Claire-Bear
by whatthefuckisupkyle
Summary: Claire-y, Claire-uh, Claire-Bear; just a simple girls who gets the rug yanked out from under her.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Twilight Series

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1

Claire

There was nothing more refreshing than being home. Granted, it wasn't my real home, but it was a home away from home. If I was being honest, I wanted this to be my home; a little window seat, covered in pillows from the thrift store and one big blanket that the lady across the street made. It wasn't just the spot, it was Forks. Even though it was rare to see the sun and the small, tight-knit community made it hard to get away with everything, I loved Forks. It just meant we appreciated the sun more, and we were all one big family.

Neah Bay had the same-ish effect, but the thing that really made the difference for me was the people. Sure, I had my parents and sister and friends in Neah Bay, but Forks had my favourite Aunt, my two favourite cousins, and Quil.

"Mornin'."

I turned to look into the kitchen, seeing Leah walking towards the coffee machine. Her cropped hair was disheveled and sticking up in the back. The muscles in her arms and legs looked barely contained in her pyjamas and her angular face was stale and cold. It _was_ first thing in the morning.

"Morning, Leah." I smiled lightly. "Sleep well?"

She groaned loud enough the fill the whole kitchen. "No. Seth was on the phone _all night_ with his girlfriend."

Leah was the only person I had ever known the actively avoid getting into a relationship. My whole life I had never seen her in one, and I had a feeling I wouldn't be any time soon. It didn't really matter. Leah was the toughest, most capable person of taking care of herself I had ever met. Toughest - including _all the boys_ in Sam and Jake's packs.

"That sounds fun." I stood, walking over to the kitchen and sliding into one of the chairs.

She sat down beside me, coffee in front of her. "How was sleeping in that bed? Somehow, the guest bed is the most comfortable one in the place, even though no one ever sleeps in it."

I sighed heavily. "It was great. That bed is so soft. Slept like a baby."

Her harsh eyes shifted to me. "Well, I'm glad _your_ sleep was so great."

I tried not to laugh, but I couldn't hold it in. "Leah, I'm sure it wasn't that bad." I reached for her coffee, but she slapped my hand. I retracted quickly, feeling the sting. "Ow!"

Leah shrugged, unbothered. "If you want a coffee, get your own." She took a long slip and then asked, "Have you told anyone else you're here yet?"

I got in pretty late last night. I had graduated a little over two weeks ago, which was the last time I saw everyone. And they all knew I was going to be coming down for the summer at some point, but I didn't tell anyone when, except for Seth and Leah. I wanted to surprise everyone else. And I really couldn't wait to see Quil's face.

"No. I want it to be a surprise."

"Jake is coming to pick up me and Seth in a little bit to train, so he'll be the first one to know."

I nodded. I really liked Jake. Since the beginning, he had been sweet and kind, but also just tough enough. He was genuinely a good person and I was more than glad that Leah and Seth were apart of his pack, along with Embry and Quil. Those two were inseparable - Embry and Quil.

"Training and then what?"

"Dinner tonight at Sam's."

"You goin'?" I asked, more on the timid side. My mother had explained to me the entire situation of Emily and Sam and Leah years ago. She said she didn't think Leah was angry about it anymore, but she preferred not to be in their presence - or in the presence of any couple that liked to show off their love.

"No."

I didn't think so. I felt bad for Leah. I loved Emily and Emily was very, very pretty, but I never understood how someone could make that much of a quick switch over from one person to another. It was like love at first sight, but ten times more intense. My mother had told me it was ' a wolf thing' and I wasn't to worry about it.

"I think I'm gonna go get some lunch after unpacking, and then go see Alley about getting my summer job again, and then I'll come to dinner."

"At the bookstore?"

"Yeah."

"Isn't that the most boring job in the entire world?"

I shrugged. "Little bit," I said honestly. It wasn't like it was the best job in the world, but it was a job that paid, with short hours so I could still do fun stuff for the summer. Hopefully Alley would take me back. I had been doing it every summer for four years, so I hoped she hadn't already found someone else, because I really counted on getting that job.

Seth came out, staggering down the hallway and into the kitchen, going straight towards the coffee. Out of all the boys, Seth was the smallest and skinniest, though I still wouldn't call him small and skinny. Like all the other boys, his dark hair was cut short, and like Leah, it was was sticking up.

"Look who finally decided to wake up," Leah said loudly.

"Good morning to you too, Leah." Seth glanced over his shoulder, a big smile on his face.

The contrast between the two siblings was hilarious. Leah was so serious and cold, but very smart. Seth was fun and bright, though lacked common sense sometimes. Both of them had their downfalls, but they usually made up each other's weaknesses with each other's strengths. They went together well. Leah, as the older sibling, looked out for Seth, probably more than he wanted, but she did.

"How's Tara?" I asked.

Seth smiled even wider, walking towards us. "She's great. We were up talking all night and -"

"Oh, _I know,_ " Leah interrupted, raising her cup to her lips.

Seth reached up and just barely tipped Leah's cup, causing the little bits of coffee to drip out, most of is resinating on Leah's chin, the rest of it on the table. Leah put the cup down quickly, making more of it splash onto the table. Seth's laughter filled the room at the same time he started to stand. He knew better than to stick around, as Leah was already standing up with him, a mean look on her face.

Soon, they were running around the living room, Seth having the time of his life and Leah looking very lethal. They disappeared deeper into the house. I listened for their heavy footsteps and then eventually they stopped and Seth started to scream - nothing concerning, but I imagined Leah was hold his arm behind his back and telling him 'if you ever do that again...' and whatnot.

The front door opened and Jake's eyes widened as Seth screamed again. His eyes then met mine and he smiled. "Claire." He walked over to me as I stood. We met and our arms wrapped around each other. "Just had to see everyone again already, hey?"

"Can't stay away." I sat back down. "Leah says you're doing some training."

"Yeah."

My eyebrows rose out of curiosity. "They're not trained after all these years?"

Jake just laughed. "It's never too late to learn more. We're just training today and then they'll be back on patrol pretty quickly here." He stopped for a second, narrowing his eyes at me. "Does Quil know you're here?"

"No. I want to surprise him."

"I knew it." He chuckled, showing off his white teeth. "If Quil did know, he'd find a way out of training today."

I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. "Uh, yeah, sounds like Quil."

Jake patted my back and then walked around me, yelling into the hallway, "Clearwater's, let's go." After a second of nothing. "Now!"

Leah and Seth came running down the hallway, both now fully dressed and ready to go. Leah glided past Jake. "You can thank Seth for making you wait."

Seth groaned. "Oh, come on, Leah." He made it past Jake, both him and Leah walking out of the house, Jake hot on there trail.

Jake turned back to me, giving me a short wave. "Seeya, Claire."

The door closed and the house fell into silence.

* * *

Forks never changed - ever. Going for a walk uptown, and the same cars were still parked in the same spots as they were months ago. You walk into any place, and you know the person behind the counter. The amount of conversations I had today was extensive, and it almost made me late to the bookstore.

I walked in about fifteen minutes before closing. When I didn't see Alley behind the counter, I gave a quiet shout through the store. "Alley? Alley. it's Claire, I'm -"

"Back for the summer!" Alley came out of nowhere, throwing her arms around me. "Hello, hello, hello!"

I laughed. "Hi, Alley."

She let me out of her clutches, not that I didn't mind being in them. She leaned back, displaying to me her signature closed-mouth smile. "Welcome back!"

Alley was full of warmth and kindness. She had never raised her voice to anyone, I was sure, and the amount of late book fees she has waved is more than I can count of both hands and feet. She always had a scarf on, as well as big earrings, and her two braids coming down over her ears and extending down to her waist. She might've talked too much, but she had the best hugs in the whole world.

"Thank you. I just came to say hi and -"

She put her hands on my arms. "I haven't hired anyone else, Claire." She stood beside me and put her arm over my shoulders. "Let's just get you all signed up with that nasty paperwork as per usual and have you start tomorrow."

I smiled widely, feeling happy just standing next to her. "Thank you so much, Alley, I -"

"Nonsense." She patted my back as we entered into her office. "I would rather have you work here than anyone else, Miss Claire."

We sat down and signed a few things that I needed to legally sign, and then we sat and talk way past closing time. She asked me all about my life and how graduation had went and what my plans were.

I was honest with everything. Being graduated was scary, especially since I was unsure of what direction I wanted to go with my future. I told her I'd be here for at least the summer, and then I'd decide if I wanted to return to Neah Bay or stay in Forks. Either way, I'd get a job at the end of the summer and then start thinking about school next year.

It was a very basic plan, but it was the only one I had. I had really no idea what I wanted. I just needed time, was all. Time surrounded by really good people who were going to support me. Forks was where I needed to be, and this job at this bookstore was where I needed to work.

My eyes drifted over to the digital clock sitting on the desk. "Is that the time?" I shot up, realizing I was going to be late for dinner. "I have to go." I backed towards the door and threw my purse over my shoulders. "Thanks again, Alley. I'll see you tomorrow at 9!" I spun around, jogging out of the store.

"Bye, bye, Claire!"

The bell jingled as I ran outside, bumping right into a tall body. "Oh, I -"

"Claire!" He wrapped his arms around me. "What're you doing home."

The girl beside him wrapped her arms around both of us. "No way, it's Claire-Bear!"

I chuckled, feeling everything inside my body being squished together. "Guys, you're crushing me."

Kato and Anna leaned away from me. Brother and sister - more specifically, twins. They were never seen without each other. How close they were with Seth growing up, I ended being pretty close with them as well. I like Kato and Anna. They were funny and fairly nice.

"Little Claire," Kato said, glancing at Anna, who had the exact same smile as him plastered on her face. "Back for the summer, hey?"

Anna didn't let me answer before she reached out and pulled at my long dark hair. "How is it that you get prettier every time we see you?"

"True."

Anna smacked Kato's arm. "Don't be a creep." She laughed, the infectious sound causing me to laugh. "Where you goin' in such a rush?"

I gestured behind me. "I need to get to Sam's for some dinner."

"You'll never make it in time." Anna nodded, linking her arm with mine. "Let us give you a ride."

Kato linked his arm with my free arm as well. "Yeah, we broke out the old Chevy."

"I thought that was your dad's."

"Oh, it is," Anna said, chuckling a little bit. "But little does he know, it's ours today." Hers and Kato's hands connected in front of my face.

I shook my head, trying not to show my smile. I didn't want to encourage them. "You guys are gonna be in a lot of trouble where Jerry finds out what you've done."

We stopped in front of a roughed up blue 1972 Chevy. The rust on it looked like it was spreading the longer I stared at it, but it had a certain charm to it.

"Cute," I commented, watching Kato open the driver's side. Immediately, nervousness washed over me. "You're letting him drive?"

Anna shrugged, squishing into the middle seat between Kato and I. "We take turns, just so it's fair ya know."

I quickly put my seatbelt on. "Fair enough."

We pulled away from the curb and started down the road. We talked and talked, as more and more trees came into view and the road stopped being paved. I knew we were just about there, when Anna sparked up on a subject that made me nervous.

"Hey, a bunch of us are going to the beach on Saturday."

That was code for party. It wasn't the party aspect that made me nervous, it was the fact that it was Kato and Anna who were mentioning it to me. That meant they had a key role in organizing it, which meant there would be a significant amount of drugs and alcohol at this party.

"Oh?" Was all I could say.

Kato laughed. "Don't sound so excited, Claire-y."

Anna threw her arm around me. "Yeah, come on, Claire-uh." She pushed her face close to mine. "Just because it's a party doesn't mean you have to do anything. Just come and hang out." When I started to stutter, she patted my back. "You have a week to decide." Kato stopped the truck in front of Sam's. "Just call us. Same number. We'll pick you up."

I nodded, feeling more comfortable with that. "I will." I opened the door, hopping out. "Thanks for the ride, guys."

"No problemt."

"See you, C."

I closed the door, running up to the Uley household. I stopped in front of the front door, hand on the handle, the adrenaline pumping through my body. I felt a little nervous. I opened the door, only to be greeted by a whole bunch of emptiness.

"Hello?"

"Emily?"

She screamed, running out of the kitchen, her small body barrelling into my small body. "You're here!"

"I am." I hugged her back, looking around the empty house. "Where's everyone else?"

"Running late." She leaned away from me, grabbing my hand and pulling me into the kitchen. "Help me finish up. How was the bus ride?"

I sighed, picking up a knife and starting to cut into the apples. "It was really long, but it feels good to finally be here."

"I bet." She nudged me and then went across the kitchen, fixing the dough for the soon to be delicious apple pie. Emily's food was the best. That's why dinners at the Uley household were so popular and common. It brought everyone together. It was nice.

"How's Sam?"

"He's really good. He's more relaxed, you know?" Emily stood straight and sighed. "Stuff around here...it's been good. Everyone is getting along. There hasn't been anything dangerous. It's...nice, finally."

I knew Forks had it's troubles with vampires and werewolves and those things together as well as separately. Either way, it was over. Both Sam's pack and Jake's pack both did patrol, because, in Quil's words, "better safe than sorry".

I walked over to her, both of us arranging the pie together. "That's good."

"Yeah. A good time to start a family."

I chuckled. "A really good time. I really don't know what's been taking you guys so long, like I know you're still considered young or whatever but I'd love to have a little one running around here."

Emily started to smile widely. "Me too. Sam does too." She put down everything and turned to me, suddenly beaming at the mere thought of her being pregnant. "Actually, I think I might be pregnant."

My joy that was sitting contently inside of me bursted. I gasped, wrapping my arms around her tightly. "Emily! That's great!"

She laughed, pushing me back quickly. "But I'm not sure yet. I could not be."

I squealed, just like a little girl would. "I hope you are!" I sighed, thinking about what their child would look like. Big brown eyes, beautiful caramel skin and thick brown hair. Hopefully it would look like Emily, no offence to Sam. "This is great."

"Let's just get this pie in the oven before -" The sound of a couple of trucks grew closer and closer before it was right in front of the house. Emily popped the pie into the oven and started to gather dinner. "Perfect timing. Help me set the table?"

I grabbed what she couldn't, even though we'd have to make two trips anyway. We set the big table up as nice as we could, going back into the kitchen to get the rest of the food as I heard truck doors slamming and the boys talking outside.

The front door swung open, a couple of shirtless boys walking into the house, followed by a couple more shirtless boys, but not everyone. Sam was first, walking halfway over to Emily before seeing me.

He smiled nice and big and hugged me tight. "Hey, kiddo."

"Hi, Sam." I hugged him back and then leaned away, smiling wide. "How are things?"

"Good, but I'm starvin'." He turned to Emily, wrapping both arms around her. "And I know it'll be good."

I looked away when they kissed, meeting Jared's gaze next. "Hey, J."

Jared sat down in one of the chairs, nodding his head towards me. "How are things, little Claire? How's the graduated life?"

"Really good," I said, leaning against the counter. "Really different." I looked at Paul. "Hey, Paul."

Paul nodded, but said nothing. He was the strong silent type. That's what I'd say about him if someone asked why he wouldn't really talk to anyway, but the truth was Paul was just kind of an asshole. He got angry too fast and had nothing nice to say about anyway. He didn't smile enough, and he might've been quite handsome if he did.

"Quil's just helping put some stuff away," Sam said to me.

The door swung open and my second favourite walked in.

"Claire-Bear!" Embry strode over to me, wrapping me up into his arms and spinning me around.

I laughed loudly. "Embry!" When my feet finally touched the ground, I pulled away, my big smile matching his. "I missed you."

Embry was tall and slender, paired with a slim face and terribly cut hair. I had seen Embry cut it himself before, actually, which was a nightmare inducing situation. He was funny and full of happiness and terrible jokes. He was Quil's best friend, which meant that he also happened to be mine.

"I missed you too, little Claire." He patted my head, like you would a dog, before sitting down. "Quil's just outside, under the shower."

"Which reminds me -" Emily reached out, smacking the head of whoever was closest to her, which was Jared. "Why is Quil to only one who does what I asks when it comes to showering before coming into the house?"

Emily had an outdoor shower for the boys the wash off in, mostly because she complained about being exhausted from cleaning the house after every meal due to the dirt and muck sticking around long after everyone left. None of the boys did it, out of laziness or by the fact that the weather was never nice and the shower was freezing, though Emily said it was no excuse because of their constant boiling body temperature.

I couldn't wait any longer. As Embry and Jared stumbled through some excuse as to why they never listened, I jogged out of the house, approaching the corner slowly. It only then just occurred to me that Quil would be naked. A harsh blush suddenly rose to my cheeks at the thought and I couldn't help myself before peering around the corner.

I guess Emily or Sam had installed curtains since last time. I only saw Quil's hand reach for the towel on the ledge of the side of the house. Barely a minute later, the curtain was pushed aside quickly, Quil emerged, in only a pair of tight cut-off jeans.

His curly hair was wet and wavy on top of his head, unlike his usual look of fluffy, slightly curly mop that I adored so much. His russet skin was clean and smooth and easy to touch. His tall figure and hairy legs always startled me. Quil was a man's man - broad, hard, muscular, and protective. But the few things that never seemed to change were his bright brown eyes and impish grin, which were my two favourite things about him.

I was going to try and play it cool, as I should've been used to it by now, but _still_ every time I saw him, I almost always bursted with excitement. "Quil!"

His eyes shifted to me quickly. "Claire." Instantly, his wonderful smile came over his face. He took a couple big steps over to me, wrapping his arms around me. His arms were tight, chest firm, and body warming. "Oh, Claire."

I sighed, finally feeling the relaxation I was waiting for since I arrived. "Hi."

Quil laughed quietly. "Hi." His voice was soft, as were his eyes when he looked over me. His big hands came to the sides of my face, holding me gently. "How are you? How was the trip? When did you get in? Did you unpack? Have you slept? Have you eaten?"

"Calm, Quil." I took his hands away from my face, holding them in mine as I took a couple steps back, guiding him towards the front door. "I'm hungry. Let's eat, okay?" I turned around, his hand still in mine.

"Claire." Quil spun me around, stepping very close to me, still smiling. He looked happy. I loved seeing him that way. "I'm glad you're back."

I nodded, feeling the tingling in my fingers as he rubbed my hand with his thumb. "Me too."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Twilight Series

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2

Curiosity

The wind kept blowing my long hair into my face, mostly into my eyes and mouth, so that every time I got comfy with my blanket wrapped around me, I would have to take my hand out of my nice, warm blanket and I would have to pull my hair away from my face. That was every minute or two.

It didn't matter. I loved the beach. It was so calming. Sure, it was nice to catch it on a nice day, but Forks didn't have a lot of those. So...you just had to find the beauty in the grey clouds smeared across the sky, connecting with the very dark water below, as well as the dark sand, and harsh wind.

It wasn't easy for all of us to get together anymore. At least that was what Emily said when she encouraged us to go out with the boys. We all came out a couple of hours ago, starting with surfing. Now, everyone who couldn't generate enough body heat to keep them still warm in the piercingly cold water, was sitting on the beach with blankets wrapped around them; that'd be me, Jared's wife, and Embry's fiancée. Everyone else was making their way up the cliffs.

They were really insane, but apparently they all loved it. After all, it was a special tradition of werewolves could survive. A human would never survive the impact of the long fall into the chilling water. Well, they would survive, but it would hurt like hell - so much that you could drown or become disoriented or -

"Claire?"

"Huh?" My head whipped around to look at Kim, who was way to pretty to be dating Jared. "What?"

Kim laughed, also pushing her long, dark hair from her face. "Are you thinking about cliff-jumping again?"

I glanced at the cliffs, seeing the boys appear at the top, one by one. "Yeah." I watched them as they stood around, seeming to tease each other. It was hard to see because it was so far up. "It's just so -"

"Idiotic?"

"Awesome?"

Kim was in her right mind, where as Embry's girlfriend, Danielle, shared Embry's calling for the wild and free. When her and Embry got together, they always did something stupid, and somehow lived to tell the tale.

Danielle laughed at my reaction. "Come on, Claire, don't look at me like that." Her big, curly hair stayed away from her face, giving me a clear view of her very pretty face. Like Kim and I, her skin was a russet colour and her hair was dark. Unlike us, her eyes were a bright blue and her nose was turned upward. She didn't blend. She didn't look like everyone else in the small community of the Quileute tribe, because she simply wasn't apart of it. She wasn't native. It was never an issue, it just intrigued me how well she took that Embry was a shapeshifter, where as Kim and I always knew.

What would my life have been like if I didn't know about werewolves? If the majority of my friends weren't made up of supernatural beings? How would my life be different?

I was curious, but I wouldn't want that. I loved my family and my friends and I couldn't think of any moment of my life where I wished I had it different.

"There goes Em." Danielle nodded to the cliffs. Embry ran from where all the boys were standing, leaping of the edge of the cliff, letting his arm and legs fling around. Soon, he disappeared into the dark waters, reemerging a couple of seconds later.

All of us cheered.

"I'll give it a four," I said.

Kim nodded. "I'd say four point five."

"I'd say ten."

Kim chuckled, bumping her shoulder into Danielle's. "You're not allowed to vote, Dani, he's your boyfriend." She looked at the cliffs, glancing at me. "Looks like Quil's going next, Claire."

That always made me nervous - seeing Quil leap off something incredibly high, even if the water was there to catch him below. But I still watched as he took a running start, going off the cliff, hurling his body forward and tucking, doing two front flips before connecting with the water.

"That's a seven right there."

"Agreed."

I shook my head. "Zero."

Both girls laughed at my score, Dani reaching forward and pulling at my big toe. "Don't be a square, Claire."

"Yeah, square-Claire," Kim adding, fuelling both of their laughter.

I tried to hold in my laughter, failing miserably. "Are you both done?" My laughter faded, wrapping my towel tighter around me. "If I have to score, obviously a ten."

Embry, already out of the water, came running towards us. He decided he needed to be right next to us when he shook the water out of our hair. I pulled my towel up quickly, blocking the water.

Kim squealed. "Embry!"

Dani laughed. "You're supposed to be dry before coming over here, remember?"

Embry laughed too, walking over to her and leaning down, the water still dripping off every inch of his body, now taking place on Dani's legs. He had a wide smile on his face. "You know, baby, I'd _really_ appreciate it if you would lend me your towel."

Dani didn't even have to think. "No."

Embry spun around the fastest I had ever seen him move. He wrapped his hand around a piece of my towel and tugged hard. The towel flew away from my body and was wrapped around him in a matter of seconds.

"Embry!" I stood quickly, feeling the slightly chilled air hit my shoulders. I took a step forward to get it and he took a step back. "Embry, that's mine."

I got too close and Embry held the towel above my head, far out of my reach. He started to mock me, but never got to finish. "What's the matter, Claire? Someone -"

The towel was ripped away from Embry. Quil pushed Embry away playfully, his deep and sexy laugh coming through. Once Quil had the towel, Embry was done trying for it. Quil was taller and fuller than Embry. It's a fight he would've lost big time.

I smirked confidently, despite the fact that I had nothing to do with getting my towel back. "Ha!"

Quil walked past a disappointed Embry and moved towards me. He wrapped my towel around me tightly and smiled, rubbing my arms over my towel. "Warmer, now?"

"Thank you," I said to him, slowly sitting back down in the sand.

Quil moved away from us to shake out his hair, the damn strands already curling up again now that they had the chance too. He sat down beside me, close enough for me to feel the warmth coming off of him. "What were the scores?"

"We've got an 18.5 for Embry," Kim said, glaring at Embry quickly before looking at Quil. "And a 24 for Quil."

"Yes!" Quil celebrated.

At the same time, Embry's eyes widened and he said, "What?!"

" _I_ gave you a ten," Dani told Embry, wrapping her arms around the love of her life, hugging tightly. She then kissed his cheek and he turned, kissing her fully on the lips. They both laughed and fell back in the sand. The rest of us immediately looked away - not really in disgust, just to give them some privacy.

Quil threw his heavy arm around my shoulders, bumping into me. "Did you give me a ten?"

I let my towel fall down, my bare skin touching his ever warm bare skin. We were so close, I could see the smallest of freckles on his smooth face and the small spot of hazel in his right eye. "Of course." I would always give him ten's.

"Thanks, Claire."

I watched as one, small drop of water slid down his nose. I reached up, wiping his nose dry with one swipe. I chuckled at his reaction. "You're welcome, Quil."

After we were all done at the beach, I was helping Embry put the surf boards in the back of his truck. I was loading in the last board when Embry put his hand on my shoulder roughly. "You know, I don't appreciate you stealing my towel."

I whipped around quickly, throwing my arm, aiming for his head. I knew he was too fast, and of course, I didn't hit him. I watched him back away, laughing at me. I huffed, watching Paul walk past him and up to me, putting his board in Embry's truck.

"Did you have fun today, Paul?"

"Sure," Paul said, no emotion whatsoever.

Embry's hand clamped around Paul's big shoulder. "Paul had buckets full of fun! Though he'd never admit it." His hand slid from his shoulder as Paul turned and walked away. Embry turned to me. "Grumpy pants."

Paul whipped around, a mean look on his sharp face. "I'm not grumpy."

Embry whispered to me, "Him and his girlfriend got into a fight, so -"

"Enough, Embry!" Paul took a couple big steps forward, getting up close and personal to Embry's face. Paul looked angry, but sad and hurt at the same time. Of course anger was his go-to, but there was more than that. His eyes were glossy and tired, like he was upset. "You don't know anything about what it's like."

Embry's brows furrowed and his mouth tightened. I had seen Embry so angry so little amount of times that the sight was almost comical. But there was no laughing. Embry was very angry. "What the hell are you talking about? I imprinted, just like you."

Time seemed to slow down for every person gathered around the trucks at the sound of a word I didn't recognize - everyone except for Paul and Embry.

Paul just scoffed, able to roll any comment off his shoulders. What he lacked was a good enough comeback. "You're pathetic, Embry."

Embry's strong arms wrapped around Paul, knocking him to the ground within a second. The wrestled around, which was usually fun and not a big deal, but this looked serious and angry.

"Hey!" Sam's strong and commanding voice made them stop instantly. He walked over to Paul as Quil walked over to Embry. Sam helped Paul up by the arm, his eyes landing on me in a strange expression I had never seen. It didn't take long for him to look back to Paul, his voice low and annoyed. "Get in the truck."

I watched as they walked away, but I didn't miss Quil give Embry a look a massive disappointment. I knew Quil would back up Embry until the very end. He certainly would've taken Embry's side over Paul's, so why such a look?

What was I not understanding?

Quil walked around Embry and came to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "Those two." He laughed, but not a genuine one. He opened the truck door for me, gesturing for me to get inside. "My lady."

For a small second, I had forgotten about everything that happened. I chuckled to myself, hopping into the truck and sliding around the seat until I felt my leg touch Embry's. Quil got in beside me, the entirety of his leg pressed up against mine. It wasn't the biggest truck in the world, but the closeness of the three of us never bothered me.

Being in the truck, the hum of the radio slowly coming back from static as we drove, and Quil and Embry talking about things I couldn't have cared less about - all of it left me to myself - time to think.

Paul was always quick to anger, to yell, to fight. And none of what happened surprised me in the least. It was Sam's look; Quil's look. Embry's sudden tackle of anger, all seeming to stem from one word I couldn't place to have any special meaning: imprinting.

It didn't sound so serious, but it was the source of all the chaos that little while ago. Something about it...made me scared to ask. I never held back anything from Quil. I trusted him with the whole of my soul. I asked him anything and he always seemed to have an answer. But something about the word imprinting, made me wary to ask anyone, especially Quil.

I didn't mean to, but I thought about that one single word all the way back to the Clearwater household. And then, laying in the guest bedroom, on the soft mattress, with the window open just a touch, I was alone again with my thoughts.

 _knock knock_

The door swung open. Leah was never quiet, never subtle, never gentle. She took a couple steps inside of my room. "Dinner's ready."

I nodded, rolling off of the bed, taking my place beside her as we walked down the hallway. "Did you have fun cliff jumping today? You were kind of showing all the boys up again, Leah," I told her. "Remember how Seth asked you not to do that?"

"I'm not trying to show them up," she told me quickly, not defensively. She sounded like she was simply stating facts. "I just do. I can't -"

"Help it," I finished for her, laughing. Once was reached the dining room table, I sat down beside her. "They're just babies if they can't accept that just maybe a girl can be tougher than them."

"They've always been that way."

"Where's Seth anyway?"

"Over at the Uley's with everyone else."

"Oh." I twirled my fork around the spaghetti; Leah's famous dish. It wasn't that it tasted spectacular. It was just one of the things she knew how to make correctly every time. We had spaghetti a lot whenever I stayed here. Staring at the plate made me wish I was at Emily's. She made the best food and it was no secret.

Leah's eyes were glued to the TV behind me, and again, alone with my thoughts.

Something about the word imprinting. Looking at Leah now, and how honest and raw to the core she was, I knew she could never look me in the eyes and lie or divert or try and stray away from the conversation. She had never done it before. Why would she now?

"Leah."

"Yeah?" She didn't look me in the eyes.

"What's imprinting?"

She looked at me then, fork pausing in the air. She didn't seem too surprised or too startled, or maybe she was just hiding it really well. "Why?" she asked quickly, setting her fork down, suddenly seeming interested in just me instead of the wilderness show over my shoulder. "Why do you ask that?"

"I - I just -" I shrugged, trying to find the words to explain. "It was Paul and Embry today. Didn't you hear that conversation?"

She nodded. "Everyone did."

"Why was it..." I sighed. "A trigger word? Why did Embry tackle Paul when he said it? What does it mean? Why can't it be said aloud?"

Leah started back in on eating her spaghetti, not seeming bothered by my sudden questions. "It's not my place to tell you, and it's certainly not the time." Her eyes looked past me and she concentrated on the screen.

"Why can't you just tell me? Why is it a big deal?" I dropped my fork, leaning every so slightly towards her. "It's not the time? What does that mean?"

"It means you're young and you wouldn't understand."

I tried to hide my being hurt, letting my head fall down to look onto the plate. I knew Leah. If she was going to tell me, she was going to tell me. There was no convincing her. I wish she had told me. I wish she didn't look at me as a young child who couldn't understand the concept of imprinting.

I breathed in and out heavily, an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion washing over me. "I'm not hungry anymore," I said, standing and about to take my dish.

"I'll take care of it."

I stepped away from the table, a little taken back. "Thanks."

Leah looked me over, her lips parting as she looked down and sighed. Her eyes met mine once again. She brought her knees up to her chest, her big brown eyes begging me to ask a certain question. "Claire..."

I sat back down quickly. "Leah, I'm not a kid anymore. I can understand."

"I can't tell you. It's not my place," she repeated. But she leaned forward, resting her elbow of the table and her head in her hand. "But I..." She hesitated - something I didn't see from Leah often. "I know the effect imprinting can have on people. It's not all good, it can be painful too. I..." She was trying to figure out what she could and couldn't say. "Ask Sam. Don't ask Quil. Ask Sam. He'll know when you need to hear. He'll know what to say."

"Leah -"

"I'm not saying anymore." She was firm in that decision, returning to her relaxed state of TV dinner.

I nodded, standing and walking through the living room, glancing at the TV and the shelves of books around it. When Harry died, they didn't clean out any of his stuff. All of it was still sitting around, waiting to be used. I hadn't seen Leah or Seth touch any of those books ever. My eye was drawn to a couple books on the highest shelf. Those were the ones on the history of the Quileute tribe - about the legends and stories and the origination of the Quileute tribe. If anyone outside of any tribe read any of those books, they wouldn't believe a word of it, but it was all true - shape-shifters, vampires, good, evil. spirits, and demons. It was all there. All of it.

I glanced at Leah. "Are you going to bed right after this? Early morning, right?"

"Yeah, I will be. Don't worry, I won't bother you with the TV."

"Thank you, Leah." I walked down the hall, turning into my bedroom and closing the door softly. I walked over to my dresser, getting my pyjamas. I was calling it a night. The sky had been good to us today, but whenever it's good it gets bad again. It would rain tonight.

And so I sat back on my bed in my pyjamas, lazily looking at my laptop screen. It was dim. It was dying. I had gotten it seven years ago for my birthday. It was going, but it was still working. And so I watched my fuzzy, quiet, dimly lit computer screen for about an hour before I heard Leah's bedroom door close.

I gave it another twenty minutes. I could see it now, Leah laying with some of the covers on, some of them off, hair everywhere, legs tangled among themselves. Maybe a little bit of drool.

I laughed at the thought, both on the way to the living room and on the way back. And then I sat down on the bed, opening up the old, blue book. It was thin, with maybe 150 pages. It was coming apart at the edges, but it was still very much intact. The cover was a dark turquoise, with the Quileute symbol of a chief on the front and no words. I opened it up, the wonderful sound of the pages coming apart from each other.

There was no index. It was simply a book of words. At the top of every 10 pages or so there would be a title of what the next ten pages would entail. I read a little bit from the early topics. Quileute tribe fascinated me, simply because it wasn't my tribe. And I had ready plenty of books on my tribe - Makah tribe - but only in my early years of life. They were very children-based books. There was never anything about imprinting. I was hoping this book, which was directed more towards an older demographic, would give me the answers.

And yet -

"Oh, my god!" I gasped, watching a tall, dark figure come to the bedroom window. I scooted back on the bed in a panic, until I recognized the curls on top of the man's head. I let out a breath of vast relief. "The window, really?"

"Front door was locked," Quil explained, climbing through and shutting the window. He was dripping on my floor. He quickly walked over to my dresser, grabbing a towel on top and rubbing it over his head, and then over his beautiful skin. He tossed the towel near the door and then crawled into bed next to me.

Even after he had been outside in the cold rain, the heat that radiated off of him was intense. His eyes attached to the book in my hands. "What are you -" He was reaching out for it, and he looked surprised when I hid it away. He looked at me. "Claire?"

I put the book on my bedside table. "It's nothing," I said quickly, getting more comfy. "How was dinner? You should've been here. We had spaghetti."

Quil laughed, sinking into the bed and into his most comfortable position of on his back, arms crossed over his chest, staring at the ceiling. "Dinner was good." He closed his eyes. "Jake wouldn't stop bugging me about getting enough sleep tonight. Early morning tomorrow."

"Me too."

"You work tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"I'll give you a ride."

"I can bike, Quil."

"No." He shook his head, eyes still closed. "I will give you a ride."

I sensed the conversation ended. It was fine with me. I enjoyed his company, whether he was falling asleep on me or talking too much. Either way, the fact that he was there - that was all I needed.

I stared at him - eyes closed, finally relaxed. His face looks softer when he had his eyes closed. He looked younger. I watched as his chest rose and then fell, and then rose and then fell over and over again. I watched as his lips parted every so slightly, and his brows furrowed for a quick second before he relaxed again. He had fallen asleep.

I moved my pillow with me, so that I was laying flat and I closed my eyes, alerting all my other senses. It wasn't until then that I had realize that the hair of my arms were sticking up. I was cold. I had forgotten to shut my window once it started raining. Now that Quil had shut it, and he was beside me, it was warmer, but the cold air still lingered.

I scooted closer to Quil, letting my bare skin touch his. Immediately, the warmth came to me all over my body as I placed my hand on his chest, my leg over his leg. I knew I couldn't stay like that for too long. It'd be too hot eventually. But right then, it was the perfect temperature.

The perfect moment.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Twilight Series

* * *

3

Campfire

The previous night had been rainy and gross. This time, the sky was clear and dark and full of stars. It was beautiful, with not as many clouds as usual. Staring up into the sky, I could see where the smoke was disappearing. Following the trail down, the smoke got thicker and fuller and my eyes finally rested upon the big fire.

One big fire, with everyone I cared about surrounding it. It was a tribe meeting, or the only 'parties' I ever attended. The Quileute tribe was there, and all of their plus ones. Billy Black was sat in his wheel chair, talking to Jake about something. I was sitting in a chair of my own, eating one of the last burgers. I was surprised to get one at all with all the werewolves around.

"Look at them." Leah scoffed. She was watching as Jared and Paul fought over the last burger. They were acting like animals, but they were hungry. And they were males, more specifically, werewolf males. "Disgusting."

I laughed. "Little harsh, Lee."

"Harsh is my middle name."

I shook my head, bringing my burger to my lips. "I don't doubt that."

The burger was taken from my hands, the last couple of bits all gone in one second. The burger disappeared into Quil's mouth. He smiled the best he could with a full mouth directly at me. "Thanks, Claire-Bear." He sat down in front of my chair, using my knees as supports for his heavy arms.

I swatted at his head, making him laugh at me. "That was _my_ burger."

"What burger? I don't see a burger."

I smiled, my hands finding his hair, pulling the wild strands from his face, my hands sliding down to his shoulders and resting there. I felt the stare of Leah, and I looked over at her. "What?"

She looked away quickly. "Nothing." She sighed. "Looks like Billy's about to start."

I sat back in my chair, getting comfortable and ready for Billy to start. When he spoke, everyone listened. Everyone was quiet and attentive, even though we heard this story a hundred times before.

"The Quileute have been a small tribe since the beginning, but we have always had magic in our blood." His voice was deep and aged, much like himself. Billy had long, dark hair, the grey stands slowly taking over the black one. He had wrinkles all over his face, especially around his eyes. It made him look wiser and like the true chief he was. "We were great spirit warriors, shape-shifters that transformed to the powerful wolf. This enabled us to scare off our enemies and protect our tribe."

And then it was the story that we all knew too well. The story of the cold ones - the vampires, and how they were a danger to us and our kind, and how the sacrifice of the chief Taha Aki's third wife, so long ago, saved the entire tribe.

I watched Quil as he listened, his eyebrows raising and his shoulders moving and his eyes intense and listening, as if he had been hearing this story for the first time.

"Over time, our enemies have disappeared. But one remains; the cold ones. Our magic awakens when they're near, when we feel the threat in our blood."

I rubbed Quil's shoulders, feeling them tense up. I knew he had no dying hatred for vampires. Jake's pack was significantly more tolerable of them than Sam's pack was. I knew Quil didn't like them or enjoy their presence, but he didn't _hate_ them. At least not all of them.

I knew about the treaty between the two creatures, as well as the fights between them, and the fights where they fought alongside one another not too long ago. I was unsure about any other place, but in Forks, shape-shifters and vampires seemed tolerable of each other to a certain point.

Forks was a hot bed for the supernatural. It was the host of the birth of the second known half-vampire half-human. Something about the Volturi, as well as a couple of great battles. All of that was before I could start to remember things. Now it was just a couple of troublesome vampires rolling into town and stirring up trouble every once in a while, which was always taken care of either by the Cullen's or one of the packs.

I knew Quil didn't hate vampires, but he was always opposed to me meeting one or spending time with one or talking about one or talking to one. Quil was a little overprotective, but I trusted his judgement. If Quil didn't particularly like vampires, neither did I.

The night ended with Quil, Embry and I walking into their place. Out of all the places in the pack, theirs was the most extreme contrast of messy and clean. Quil didn't like mess, and so he cleaned up after himself and tried to clean up after Embry, though I think he eventually gave up trying. In a couple spots of every room, there was a couple of piles of just stuff. Embry couldn't clean to save his life, so he left trails of himself behind, which was hard in such a small space. It's had a sizeable living room and kitchen and then two bedrooms and one bathroom and that was it. It was quant. It was perfect.

"Alright!" Embry clapped his hands, leaning against the kitchen counter. "Are we doing this together or what?"

It was our girlfriend, it was his. It was our girlfriend's birthday, it was Embry's. It wasn't our responsibility or obligation, but it kind of was. Dani was in love with Embry's grandma's sugar cookie recipe. Quil made the batch, but Embry told her he did. And now, any time he needed those cookies, he gave Quil his saddest face and best beg. Not only was Embry messy, he was the worst and cooking or baking.

Quil gave Embry and unimpressed look. "Don't you want them this gift to be special? Don't you want it to come from you, Em?"

Embry shrugged, honestly not caring. It wasn't that he didn't care about giving Dani something special, because he did. It was just that his favourite thing to say was 'why do something yourself when someone else could do it for you'. Quil, being so generous and kind, usually caved, not because he was a pushover but because he cared about Embry and would only do it for him.

Quil sighed heavily, his tall form reaching into the cupboard. "Fine."

Embry smiled triumphantly, moving towards the hallway. "Alrighty, all go get all the..." His voice slowly faded out as he disappeared into his mess of a bedroom.

"He's gonna go get what?" I asked, grabbing the recipe out of the small mahogany box on the counter. I placed it down on the island, moving to get all the ingredients we needed for the delicious sugar cookies.

"Nothing," Quil answered, placing a metallic bowl down in front of us. "He's not coming back."

Without any of Embry's help, Quil and I made a ton of sugar cookies, which were all piled very neatly and evenly on a big plate. Now we had some icing in two Ziploc bags with the corners cut off, putting letters on the cookies that would sit on the top of all the other.

I was working of 'Happy' and Quil was working on 'Birthday'. One letter per cookie. A couple extra ones for hearts and smiley faces.

I was painting an 'A' on a perfectly round sugar cookie when I asked Quil a question that had been on my mind since the end of the fire we had a couple of hours ago. "What was it like when you first shifted?" I sat atop the counter, watching his curiously.

He was beside me, placing another one of his cookies down onto the plate. "It was confusing and difficult and...amazing." Quil looked across the room at nothing, seeming deep into his mind. "It was just Embry and I in the woods. It was just us taking a short cut to the reserve. And then..." Quil picked up another cookie, going back to painting another letter onto it. "Embry had shifted a couple days before I did. He knew what he was doing bringing me into those woods and he knew what to say when I shifted. The world shook around me and I couldn't see clearly at first. I thought I had lost my balance and my sight. I didn't know what I was. I was scared, but Embry knew what to do. He pretty much took me straight to Sam. Sam knew what to do."

"He always does."

Quil was a gorgeous person, and an even more gorgeous wolf. He wasn't as big as Quil or Jake, but he was still huge. His chocolate-brown fur had a little more texture that the others, due to Quil's curly hair. His eyes stayed the same. He was massive in size, yet quick and precise in his movements. He had muscle and teeth and a growl that was terrifying to hear. But he never barred his teeth to me or scared me. He was just as wonderful in his wolf form than he was his human form.

"And what about all the changes?" I asked, fully abandoning my cookie decorating. I glanced at the tattoo on his arm, just below his shoulder. I saw pictures of what Quil used to look like - small and skinny and cute. Now he was big, tall, muscular and hard in look and substance.

"It was more sudden than I thought it'd be," Quil said, laughing to himself. "Over the course of a couple weeks, I started looking down on everyone instead of up. I couldn't slam a door without in snapping in half. Sam said the threat of a vampire makes us become stronger, in order to protect our pack, our brothers." Quil put another cookie down on the plate. "I had to cut my hair, I had to get a tattoo, I couldn't stand being wrapped up in clothes anymore. But I was willing to do all of that for my pack. For Sam."

"And now?"

"Now I'll do anything for this pack. The Black Pack. They're my family and I'll go through whatever and do whatever I need to do to protect them."

That was the one thing I never could understand about shape-shifters; their undying loyalty to each other. They would die for each other in an instant. It baffled me, but it was strong and unquestionable.

"You really feel that way?"

Quil looked me in the eyes, those soft brown circles looking all over my face. "Yes." He walked towards me, taking a place between my legs, wrapping his arms around me suddenly. "I feel..." He hugged me tightly, pulling me off the counter, drifting from that sentence.

I laughed quietly to myself. "Quil, are you okay?" I hugged him back, grabbing onto my wrist to secure my arms around him. My cheek was warm against his chest. When he didn't answer, I asked, "Quil?"

He leaned away, his hands finding my shoulders. "I'm just as loyal to you as I am my pack, Claire, because I..." He licked his lips, looking suddenly and adorably nervous. "Because I -"

"Are you two done yet?"

Both Quil and I looked over at Embry. Quil stepped away from me, gesturing to the plate. "We're almost done."

The plate of cookies looked full, but it was missing a couple of letters - my letters. Right now, it said, 'Ha Birthday'. I picked up a cookie quickly. "I'm almost done with happy." I nodded to the couple of cookies left. "Why don't you pick up a bag and help, huh?"

Embry pretended to consider. "Well...I..."

Quil took a step forward, causing Embry to take a timid step back. Embry held up his hands and them quickly picked up a bag of icing and a cookie. "Jeez, alright, I'm doing it."

"How kind of you," Quil said teasingly, slapping his back a couple times, a satisfied smile on his face. "It's not like it's _your_ fiancee or anything. In fact -" Quil looked at me, happy as a clam. "Why don't you finish it off, Em?"

"What?"

I could already see it; the perfectness of the plate, with the exception of the two p's and the y, which would look like something traced them with their left hand. Dani would love it either way, but Embry would not love doing it.

I put everything down, walking around Embry. "Good for you, Em - taking initiative." I walked out of the kitchen, hearing Embry grumbling behind us. Quil and I continued down the hallway. "Next time, he's doing all of it."

Quil opened his door, immediately falling onto the bed. "Definitely."

Quil's room was big enough to fit a queen bed, a dresser and one bedside table. There was enough space to walk around the bed, as long as you stuck close. It was mostly blue, but what wasn't blue was wooden, except the floor, which was an awful fuzzy, dated carpet.

I walked over to the dresser, picking out a pair of pyjamas of mine that stayed here.

"Inviting yourself to stay the night?"

"You don't want to drive me home, I'm not walking, and Embry won't do it after making him finish off the cookies." I spoke the truth. I turned towards Quil, seeing him raise his hands to his eyes to cover them, which he always did. I laughed, starting to undress, leaving myself in my underwear. I glanced at him as I unfolded the pyjamas pants.

He was sat up on the bed, big hands over his eyes, his long legs crossed at the ankles. He was shirtless, displaying his ever-smooth skin to me. The curves of his muscles were shadowy in the light of his bedside lamp, along with faint moonlight.

Suddenly, Quil uncovered his eyes. He was expecting me to be dressed, but I had taken that time to stare instead. I had been staring a lot lately, but I couldn't help it. My eyes wandered and then my mind wandered.

Every part of Quil seemed to tense up. His hands stopped suddenly below his face. His brows furrowed and he shut his mouth tightly as his gaze lowered from my collarbone to my knees. He took a short breath and then looked me in the eyes.

Quil had watched me grow up. He had seen me in many different state in many different ways. I used to look up to him as a brother, and then he turned into my best friend. He still was my best friend, but...you don't stare at your best friend all the time. And you don't look your half-naked best friend the way Quil looked at me. At least I hadn't seen any other pair of best friends act how we did.

"Sorry," I said, quickly sliding the pants over my legs. Turning around to pick one of Quil's shirts, taking a breath of my own, feeling the sudden heat in my cheeks. I slid the shirt over my body, turning and climbing into the bed, not looking him in the eyes. "Uh, what movie tonight?"

Quil had a tiny little TV on top of his dresser, along with two photos in two frames that I had bought him. One was him and his mom and dad and the other was one of me and him at my graduation. He was too proud of me. All I did was graduate, but for Quil, it was the accomplishment of a life time.

I smiled at the photo, feeling the awkwardness of the naked moment disappear. I looked over at him. "Scary? Comedy? Romantic? What're we feeling?"

Quil picked up the remote, switching from movie to movie. "After that tribe meeting, I'm kind of feeling a thriller."

"Like you need anymore thrill in your life."

"True." Quil nodded, glancing at me. "I have plenty of that."

I waited for him to go back to scrolling through movies, but he didn't. He was still looking at me. I turned my head very slowly, giving him a chance to turn away, which he didn't. My eyes met his and I smiled. "Yes?"

His shoulder touched mine and he leaned in ever so slowly. He stopped, his nose inches away from mine. His breath was on my face and one side of his warm body twitched against mine. "You pick." He leaned away in one quick motion, tossing me the remote.

I caught it, letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Quil had been that close to me plenty of times. Why did that time make the hair on my arms stand up? Why was I _nervous_?

I pointed the remote, trying to ignore the tingle in my toes. "Thriller it is."

We spent the rest of the night watching an boring thriller, to which Quil barely stayed awake for ten minutes of. He was tired. He worked hard. He needed sleep. I, on the other hand, spent the majority of the staring at Quil, as well as thinking the moment he saw me in my underwear over and over again.

Why did I wish that he would've had a different reaction? Why did I wish he would've seemed more satisfied or more intrigued? I pictured plenty of different ways the scenario could've gone, but the one that played over and over in my mind was one where he couldn't resist. Both of us ended up in the bed, both of us in our underwear. Of course that was silly. Quil didn't wear underwear. He did everything in those jean cut-offs.

Regardless, it took a hell of a long time for my mind to tire. But eventually, I fell asleep.

* * *

I had left Quil's early in the morning, and I took Embry's old bike to ride into town. I felt bad waking the boys. I left the house as quietly as I could, careful not to wake Quil. I made it to work five minutes early. Parking my bike in the back, I unlocked the back door and then the front.

I pulled the cart full of books down one certain hallway, starting to pile them all back onto the shelves.

Abbey told me everyday at closing that she would meet me here in the morning, but she never showed until a couple hours before closing time. She trusted me to open and close, which was why she never showed in the morning and why she probably felt obligated to show at the end. If I knew Abbey, and I did, she would start leaving me on my own, which is what I liked best.

I liked the peace and quiet and being surrounded my books - I could read all of them if I wanted to. I probably would end up doing just that by the end of the summer. This job was a paying one, but it was also mostly boring.

I got a couple of the regulars in, some people I had seen a couple of times before, and more that I didn't. Around noon, two very familiar, very similar faces walked in. Both of their steps were loud, stride longs. Though Anna was so much shorter, she always was a couple steps ahead of Kato.

"You haven't called." Besides the accusing sentence, Anna had a big smile on her face, as did Kato.

"About the party," Kato added.

"And if you're coming." Anna leaned down on the counter, her elbow carelessly resting on a couple of books. "The party is tonight, Claire-y."

"Don't let us down, Claire-uh."

I laughed, shaking my head. "I can't tonight. It's my friend's fiancee's birthday. Danielle. We're all going over to Quil and Embry's to celebrate."

"Ok?" Anna said, looking at me expectantly. She wanted me to say something else. Her eyebrows were high and she was starting to lean forward. "So? What about after this birthday bash?"

Kato shrugged. "The night will still be young, won't it? You'll have plenty of time to rub your toes in the sand." One side of his lips went up, a glint of honest-to-god mischievousness I had never seen other in anyone else besides these two. "So what will it be, little Claire?"

I held my breath, shrugging my shoulders, which of course wasn't good enough for the two of them.

Anna pursed her lips, staring me down. "That's not an answer. Now you have to come. We will pick you up at 10." With that, she turned and walked away, glancing at her brother before the two of them exited the shop.

I sighed, my head falling down onto the desk. Those were plans I really didn't feel like following through with. How was I going to explain that to Quil. How was I going to explain that to Dani? I put the thought out of my mind, returning to my book.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Twilight Series

* * *

4

Caught

We all laughed as Paul threw his cards on the table, stood up and left. He held the most anger in his body, and to match, the most competitiveness. "Oh, come on, Paul."

Jared looked over his shoulder at him. "He's so dramatic," he said, and then he turned back to the small dining room table in front of us. He looked at Kim. "Why don't you go get Dani, babe? We can play another round of cards with her and then cake?"

Kim laughed, shaking her head. "It's Dani's birthday, it's her cake. She will let us know when she's ready to blow out the candles." She threw an arm around Jared. "Patience, honey."

Emily and Sam both shook their heads at them. Emily smiled, taking all the cards and shuffling them again. "One more round, and then we all convince Dani it's time for cake."

A hand - Sam's - moved to Emily's stomach. "We need a couple more slices than usual."

The way they looked at each other. Every since Emily told everyone she was expecting, they fell even more in love, which I didn't know was even possible. Sam was around Emily as much as possible and tonight was no exception.

Emily put her hand over Sam's. "You got that right."

I looked at Dani across the room. "She's busy." Dani looked beautiful in her light dress, her curly hair tamed into a low bun. Embry was next to her, arm around her waist. His hands hadn't left her the entire night. They looked happy. Beside both of them was Quil, wearing clothes. Everyone was, for once. I guess because the party was no just the wolf packs. Dani had invited her friends, as well - people who didn't live on the reserve or that belonged to the tribe; people who had no idea.

Quil had one a pair of dark jeans and a shirt I had never seen him wear before. It just a plain, all one colour of a deep blue. It fit perfectly, resting on his broad shoulders, tightening a little around his muscles and stopping just below the button of his jeans. After seeing him so shirtless for so long, it was nice to see him look different. It was nice to see him in clothes, which was a strange thought to have, considering how much I enjoyed seeing him shirtless. Bottom line, he looked wonderful.

It looked like the girl standing next to Dani knew it. Her name was something that started with an 'S'. She was Dani's friend. She was pretty and she seemed nice, but my dislike for her was sudden and strong. She only looked at Quil when she talked, even if he wasn't looking at her. She was annoying me, even though she was across the room.

"Claire."

"Huh?" I looked at Emily, who looked at me with concern. She placed a hand on my shoulder. "You alright, kiddo? You looked frustrated."

Jared giggled to himself. "It's like seeing a puppy get angry." When he saw me glaring at him, he laughed even harder. "You're not exactly intimidating, Claire-Bear."

I glanced at Quil again, seeing him laugh at something Embry said. He wasn't giving what's her name the time of day. I returned to the card game, shrugging my shoulders, feeling satisfied with myself. "That's alright. Who do I need to intimidate?"

"That's right." Sam's heavy hand fell on my shoulder. "You don't need to do any of that. Just call one of us and we'll take care of it."

I nodded, already hearing this a million and one times. Sam was the most fiercely protective person, after Quil and Leah. I offered Sam a small smile, thankful for him saying that, even though it was a one million and one repeat. "Thanks, Sam."

"Attention everyone!" Embry yelled into his living room. Everyone looked. "It is now time for...cake!"

Everyone cheered, including myself. Emily had made the cake, so everyone that had ever had anything of Emily's knew that we were in for one seriously delicious cake. It was just chocolate, but it was huge, to compensate for all the wolves that would have a slice or two or three.

We all gathered around a part of the kitchen. Dani was standing in front of the cake, beaming with happiness as we all started in on singing happy birthday to her. I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders as I sung. Quil moved my shoulders to the music, making me laugh. When we finished with the song, Dani blew out her candles and everyone cheered.

I looked over my shoulder at Quil, smiling widely. "Now we get to eat cake."

He smiled down at me, his arms coming around me, letting them dangle over my shoulders before wrapping them around my chest. He swayed with me. "You were trying to tell me something earlier."

I tried to explain that I had plans with Anna and Kato in a couple hours. That was a couple hours ago. I chickened out. For some reason, I just couldn't stand to see his face. I didn't want him to be hurt because I was leaving the party he helped organize, and I didn't want to see his face when I told him it would be a beach party hosted by the twins he always warned me about.

I shook my head, looking forward, bringing my hands up to rub his arm. I sighed, leaning against him fully. "I'm just...I'm not really feeling well." Imagine a lightbulb going off above my head. "Actually -" I shook him off, spinning around, hand on my stomach. "I'm feeling really sick. I think I might go lay down for a while." I started to walk away.

Quil followed, naturally. He grabbed my arm, pulling my to him, checking my forehead. "Are you ok? Sick like throwing up sick? Or sick like -"

"Yeah, throwing up," I said, feeling like that was a good one. I made a face of discomfort. "I just need to be alone in a quiet and dark room, you know? I feel a headache coming on."

Quil nodded, leading me down the hallway to his bedroom, where he laid be down in bed and pulled the covers over me. He sat down beside me, pushing my hair from my face, just like how he used to do when I was a kid and was _actually_ ill. "I hope you feel better, Claire."

I nodded. "Don't come check on me, ok? Enjoy the party. I'll probably end up falling asleep, so don't rush."

He gave me a small and sweet smile, leaning forward and kissing my nose, his curly hair tickling my forehead as he did. He leaned away and stood, walking out of the room, closing the door softly.

I heard his steps retreat down the hallway and I threw the covers off of myself, walking over to the mirror and fixing myself up, as well as grabbing a hoodie of Quil's back from when he was small and skinny. He had no use for it now, so I was going to put it to use. I walked over to the window, pulling it open and climbing out. I snuck down the driveway, not too nervous. Everyone was eating cake and celebrating, not looking for me.

I walked for one whole minute before Anna and Kato's dad's truck came racing down the road, coming to a screeching stop beside me.

Anna leaned out the window, reaching out for me. "Hey, little Claire. Need a ride?" She smirked a devilish smirk, opening the door for me. For a split second, it felt like I was entering the gates of hell, but as soon as I took a seat next to Anna, I was ok. "Are we ready to _paaaarrrrttttaaayyyy_?!"

I looked to Kato. "Please tell me you aren't drunk like her."

Anna's arm came around me. She leaned in close, licking her big lips. "It's called pre-drinking, kiddo. It's essential."

Kato chuckled. "I decided against pre-drinking since I'm on my last strike with our dad. The favourite here had ten times the strikes I have, so I got stuck driving." He stared at the road intently and with alertness. Thank god.

Anna, on the other hand, sang along to the radio at a level too high for me, which resulted in me scooting as far away as I could and subtly placing a hand over my left ear. I watched as the trees got a little sparse, but still surrounded us. Eventually we left gravel and entered onto a rocky pathway, leading to a small parking lot, where Kato pulled into recklessly, leaning out the window and screaming that 'the party has arrived'.

The sand was mostly even, but dark and hard to see where you were going. The closer we got to the fire, the less careful I became with my steps. It was about twenty people or so, all gathered around the fire, each of the tops of their heads catching the moonlight, their faces an orange tone due to the flames. Some people were sitting, some standing, but whatever way, everyone had a red solo cup in their hand. Beside an attractive young man was the stereo and then a cooler next to it.

Kato patted my back. "You didn't bring your own drinks, did you?"

I shook my head. "No."

He smiled, reminding me of just how charming and convincing he was. "Go talk to Jackson." He pointed to the attractive man by the stereo and the cooler. "He usually watches the drinks. I'm sure he'll give you one if you flash him your pretty smile." He pinched me cheek, laughing as he walked away.

I took a deep breath, looking around at all the talking people. I dug my foot into the sand, feeling a little anxious just standing there, so I started to walk over to that man - Jackson. I stopped in front of him. "Jackson, right?"

He nodded. "That's me."

I sat down beside him, holding out my small hand. "I'm Claire."

He shook my hand roughly, causing my wrist to twist awkwardly. It was a carelessness I wasn't used to. "Claire Young, I know. You're from Neah Bay, even though you're here all the time."

My brows furrowed at him. "What?" I laughed at him, quickly covering my mouth when he looked at me. "I - I'm sorry, I don't remember who you are."

"Your cousin used to babysit me. Leah Clearwater."

"Oh yeah?" I remembered him a little bit. I remember that he was smaller and always seemed scared of Leah, rightfully so. "And how was that?"

"Awful," he said, looking like he was reliving a horrible moment of his life. His face contorted to pained, like he had been physically punched. "Leah really was a hard ass. I was just a kid."

"She still is," I told him, offering up the kindest smile I could. "But she's a good person deep down, I promise. She seems a little mean at first, but you get used to it after a while."

He crossed his arms over his knees. "You seem nicer."

"Thanks."

He opened the cooler, picking out the generic beer from the nearest convenient store. That was what Quil and Embry used to have on a Saturday night. They were disgusting, but they were cheap. "Here." He held it out to me. "This one's on me."

I took it, holding the cold beverage in my hand, already feeling sick at the thought of drinking it. "Thank you, Jackson." I took the smallest sip that I could manage, watching Kato and Anna a good fifteen feet away, taking to a group of people who were passing around a joint. "Do you come to parties a lot?"

"Yeah. Every night, in the summer at least, there seems to be a party." He push his beer into his leg, twisting it around. "It's always this shit hole."

I looked around, my eyes settling on the dangerously dark water, only barely illuminated by the big moon in the sky. I sighed, feeling the cool breeze from the ocean rush over me. The sound was wonderful, but I could barely here in with the stereo right next to me. "I like the beach."

I spent a good twenty minutes trying my hardest to enjoy the taste of the local Forks beer I was slowly sipping on, staring out at the ocean, when Anna made her way over to me, completely obliterated.

She fell down onto the sand with a thud, giggling and rolling over. She crawled over to me, swinging her leg over mine, sitting right in my lap. Her arms came around my neck and she smiled at me. "How are you doing, Claire?"

I stuttered nervously. I wasn't attracted to Anna. She was a pretty girl, but I didn't feel that way about her. She didn't feel any way about me either, I was sure, it was just her incredibly flirty personality that possessed her to straddle me on the beach in front of all these people. That was my concern - the people. I looked around at everyone else, seeing that the only person really paying mind was Jackson.

I took a deep breath, smiling back. "I'm good."

Her hand flew to her mouth and the rank smell the the joint entered my noise. She sucked hard on the thing, taking a big breath in before grabbing the back of my head and pulling our faces together. Her lips tickled mine as she blew the smoke into my mouth. I coughed, leaning away from her, causing her to laugh. She held the joint in front of my face. "Have some, Claire. You'll have more fun if you do."

I wanted to leave, but I knew I was never going to ask. I wanted to leave, but I knew it wasn't going to be a possibility for at least another couple of hours, so I plucked the joint out of her fingers. "Ok."

She smiled widely, rolling off of me. Her legs wobbled as her stood. "And you can finish it too, Claire-y."

I nodded, watching her walk away. I sighed heavily, watching the smoke roll of the end of the rolled up tube of cannabis. Just this once and only because I hoped it would make time fly by. And only because I knew it would make my beer taste better.

And so I drank my beer and I finished my joint and I had the most fun I could've possibly had in that situation until I felt it was an acceptable enough time to ask to be driven home.

* * *

I tiptoed, feeling the soles of my feet touching the hard wood carefully. I wished I was wearing socks, then there wouldn't be the weird sound of suction as my sweaty feet peeling away from the hard wood floors. Could you blame me for sweating? I was nervous.

If Leah found out I had been to a party, she would've given me hell and told Emily and Sam, who would've given me more hell. And then Quil would find out and he would be disappointed in me. I couldn't take that.

I moved toward my bedroom door, moving at a turtle-like pace. I let the knob go slowly, finally letting out a breath of relief as I took a step backwards, knowing that the back of my shins would eventually hit my bed frame and I would fall down onto it. Instead, I hit a wall - or what felt like one. I spun around, too scared to scream. My finger flicked the light, revealing the all to angry and disappointed face of Quil Atera.

"Claire Young, you're in big trouble."

I wanted to be serious, I did. But something inside of me, made this whole very serious and troubling situation seem humorous. My hand flew to my mouth, stifling the small giggles. "Oh."

His brows furrowed and he grabbed me by my shoulders, examining my face and looking deep into my eyes. "I can't tell if you're drunk or high."

"What're you doing here?"

Quil started to explain, but I found it difficult to pay attention. He was shirtless. He knew I was looking too, but he just ignored me and continued to explain how his night proceeded after I left his place earlier. "I went to check on you and you weren't there so I called you and that Anna girl picked up and said that you were at a party." He took a quick second the cringe. "I didn't want anyone else to find out. And you're lucky I decided that instead of going straight to Sam."

I smiled, walking towards him, letting my drunk hands slide around his waist, locking behind his back in a firm and unmoving grip. "Why thank you."

He looked uncomfortable. "Claire, stop." He unhooked my 'firm and unmoving' grip quite easily, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He went from angry to uncomfortable to looking pained and sad - the new feelings that rubbed off on me quickly.

I crossed one arm, the other leaning against it as a hand ran through my hair and then came to rest on my cheek. "Are you mad at me?"

"No," Quil said quickly, eyes finding mine. "I'm just -"

"Disappointed," I finished, letting my moody teenager self finish with a scoff. "Of course you are. 'I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed'. Classic."

"But I am." He was strong in his statement. He always was. He never had seemed much older than me to me, mostly because we had so much in common and I found his easy to talk to and get along with. But in these moments of seriousness, I was so intimidated by him. He seemed so much older; wiser; smarter. "You ditched a party that you were wanted at to go to a different party with a bunch of _dangerous_ strangers to drink and do drugs?" He was no longer sad. The longer that sentence became, the more angry he got. "That's not you, Claire!"

"I just wanted to have some fun with my friends."

"They're _not_ your friends." His voice became lower and more intimidating.

"Yes, they are!" I protested, feeling embarrassed. I had friends outside of the pack. I had friends outside of this little bubble I had been set up in since day one. I had a life outside of Quil.

He shook his head. "They shouldn't be."

My foot was tapping against the ground and I could feel the heat come to my face. "Why are you always so worried about me, huh? I'm not kid anymore, Quil. I can make my own decisions. I don't need your approval."

"Claire -" He reached out to me, to which I moved away. "Claire, I'm bound to you, okay? I worry."

"Stop worrying." It was my turn to be more serious, more intimidating; older; wiser; smarter. Though my drunk self would have a little bit of trouble coming through on the plan. I took enough steps forward so that I could reach out and place both hands on the sides of his face. "I want you to treat me like your equal, Quil - like a young adult, not your little sister." I searched his face, my mouth more ready to ask the question than my heart. "You don't still think of me as a kid anymore, do you?" I was desperate for him to see me as anything but an annoying little kid.

His mouth hung open, look conflicted in his response. He looked like he knew the exact answer, but the words never made it from his mind to his mouth. Instead, he spouted out, "Claire, I think of you as my equal and I try to treat you that way, but..." He let out a struggled breath, leaning away from me. "But it's hard when I want you to do what I think is right instead of letting you figure it out on your own."

That didn't answer my question. It was a sweet sentiment, and it made me feel better about the whole situation, but it was not an answer.

"That doesn't answer my question."

Quil shook his head, offering up a stupid shrug. "I don't know. I - I don't know."

"You don't." I knew I was right. Even though my train off thought was insanely off course, and nothing I was saying was really making sense, I couldn't have possible been wrong. If I was wrong, I was about to make a complete fool of myself, as well as create an incredibly awkward situation for the both of us. "When you saw me in my underwear, what did you think?" One of my hands stayed on his face, the other sliding down to his chest, right over his heartbeat, which was pounding inside of his chest. "What did you think, Quil, when you saw me in -"

Both of his big hands latched onto my thighs, squeezing harshly. His lips were pressed together tightly and his brows were so close, they almost touched. There was a nervous glisten on his forehead and averting eyes. "Claire..." he said quietly. His voice was low, almost a growl. He moved slowly, pushing my hands away from his body. He stood, causing me to take a step back to ensure we didn't crash into each other. "You're drunk. You're saying things you don't mean - things you'll come to regret in the morning." With his big and gentle hands, he tucked me into my bed.

Once laying down in the soft mattress, the exhaustion washed over me in one smooth wave. I yawned and pulled my covers to wrap around me. "Are you staying?" I asked, eyes closed, muscles relaxed.

"No." His lips barely touched my forehead. "I'll call in the morning. Goodnight, Claire."

I hummed and turned the other way. I fell asleep within thirty seconds.

Who knew a couple of cheep beers could make you so tired?


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Twilight Series

* * *

5

Confusion

I had been laying in my bed for what felt like too long, opening my eyes ever couple of seconds to look at the old, blue book on my bedside table. It felt so wrong to open it and read it, even though I already had opened it and read it a little bit. I was looking for imprinting, but it felt so wrong. Why did it feel so wrong? Why did everyone, especially Leah of all people, have some an apprehension of letting me know what it meant?

I sat up quickly, leaving me no time to hesitate. I grabbed the book, leaning against my bed frame. I opened the book, flipping through the pages, scanning a mile a minute to just find that one special word -

 _Imprinting_

There it was, written at the top of a page that was about three quarters through the book. I folded down the top of the page immediately and then I closed the book and sat it back down on my bedside table.

I went through my morning routine - shower, get dressed, breakfast. After breakfast, I had twelve minutes extra of time. I would have to start biking in twelve minutes to make it to work a couple minutes early.

What would I possibly do for those twelve minutes?

I couldn't resist.

I sat down on my bed, opening up the book again to the page that I had flipped down. I took a deep breath and let myself read along the worn out page, reading slow enough to absorb, but fast enough to make the best of my twelve minutes.

 _Shapeshifter imprints...bound to her...everything else becomes secondary...deep need to please and protect...soulmate...involuntary..._

"Claire!"

The sound of Leah's voice was quickly followed by the sound of pages slapping back together. The book suddenly felt heavy in my hands as all the words and information swirled around in my mind.

"What?" I yelled back, suddenly completely aware of just how far away from my room she was, AKA how fast I would need to stash the book.

She sounded as if she was in the kitchen. "You better leave now for work if you want to make it on time!" Her footsteps started to come down the hallway, and for once, she didn't barge straight through the door. She stood outside the door, saying into the wood frame, "And Quil called for you."

Quil called, just like he said he would last night. Last night. I thought when you drank and smoked and participated in all the fun activities, it was supposed to cloud your mind and make for a forgetful morning. I wish that had been the case, but it wasn't. I remembered every single word, including the embarrassing question regarding Quil and my underwear. I wish I had forgotten and maybe then I wouldn't feel sick to my stomach at all I had said. And I felt bad for Quil. I never wanted to put him in a position where he felt pressured or uncomfortable, but...but I couldn't say I fully regretted last night. I'm not glad I asked those questions, but I wouldn't have taken any of them back, because the honest truth was that I genuinely wanted to know the answers. But, sober now, I was prepared to wait until Quil was ready to give me those answers.

I put the old, blue book in my book bag, tossing it over my shoulder and walking out into the kitchen. I watched Leah in the kitchen, cooking up breakfast for just one person instead of the usual two. "Where's Seth?"

"Sleeping," she said, seeming in a happy-ish mood.

"You're not gonna cook him breakfast?"

"If he wants to start paying rent on time -" Leah looked up at me, a simple and calm look on her face. She wasn't too bothered. It was her brother, after all, which meant she had years and years to get used to Seth's shenanigans. "Then he can have a gourmet breakfast."

I chuckled. "Gourmet?"

She looked up at me, lips slightly pursed, eyebrows raised, awaiting my explanation as to why I had laughed at the fact she had called her breakfast gourmet, to which I stuttered and then Leah got to smile to herself. "That's what I thought."

I shook my head, walking out the door, grabbing my bike and riding off to work. I got there with just enough time to open and turn on the lights. I did the rest of the setting up as I let the people from the old folks home in.

They were always there for opening - a sort of story time situation, but story time for themselves only. They all picked a book and sat somewhere behind a big shelf or tucked away in the corner, and they read to themselves. Some of them read aloud - giving away their location. Some were as silent as the night, not even allowing the sound of the pages turning to be heard.

That was why I liked the bookstore so much. It was so calming. It left a lot of time for an open mind. I had to fill it with something, but I wouldn't let myself reach into my book bag and grab it. I couldn't. I almost didn't want to, after the little bits that I had already read.

I picked up a book from the Fiction section and read until my shift was over.

* * *

There was nothing in the world that I had thought about more, I was convinced. Last night - I just couldn't get it out of my brain. Every second of every moment of last night. What happened. What I could've done differently. What might have happened...

"Claire?"

"What might have happened," I mumbled to myself absent-mindedly, looking down at one of Leah's pyjama shirts.

"Claire? Are you all right?"

My eyes shifted up to Leah, a foot or two down the couch, picking a pair of pants out of the hamper and folding them, eyes trained on me. She looked concerned, though I understood, as I would be concerned too, if I was watching my niece mumble to myself.

I shook my head, trying to put on a face that would be convincing enough for Leah. "I'm fine, I just -" I mean, what do I say to her? How do I explain that I got drunk and became a little too close to a very awkward conversation with Quil. How do I explain that to Leah? She was so easy to talk to, but I almost didn't want to, because I knew she would say everything I didn't want to hear. "I just..."

But maybe I needed to hear it.

"You just what?" Leah didn't like conversation that were long that could be shorter. "Spit it out."

I put her shirt in the folded pile, sighing and looking up at her with what I assumed to look like desperation. But I was desperate. I just wanted answers that no one seemed to want to give me. I needed to understand. "What is imprinting?"

Leah didn't have much of a reaction, but she stood quickly, walking to the kitchen. "I've already told you that -"

"Please, Leah." I followed behind her closely. "Please." Why was it such a secret? Why couldn't I know. "Why can't I know? Why does no one want to tell me?"

"It's not my place." She turned around, resting a hand on the counter, the other one finding my shoulder. She was holding back so much - I could see it on her face. She knew, yet she wasn't giving it up. "You're still too young and so many things still need to happen -"

" _What_ needs to happen?"

Frustration took over her face as her hands came up to her temples, curled tightly, digging into her head. "Claire, you still need to show us that -" She shut her mouth tightly, groaning quietly to herself. She took a quick breath, hands falling away from her face, eyelids lifting to reveal her hard, brown eyes. "We need to see something in you before you can become aware of that part of the werewolves."

I figured it was a werewolf-specific topic, but I was glad that Leah could confirm at least that.

Both of her hands came to my shoulders. Her brows furrowed. "I've seen it in you, Claire. All of us are seeing it come to light. Quil -" She glanced over my shoulder, eyes coming back to me quickly. She stepped away from me, and said, with a weird emotion, "Quil is here for you."

I could almost hear the snap of my neck as I turned, catching Quil just as he closed the door to Embry's truck, walking around the front of the rusty vehicle. The darkness faded onto him beautifully. It was a Quil-thing, not a werewolf-thing, to always somehow be light. He looked handsome, shirtless and jean cut-off clad, walking with a soft purpose.

I hadn't called him back. It's not that I didn't want to, but I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to look him in the eyes and explain myself.

I wasn't sure of what I was going to do, but my feet took over, moving quickly down the hall to my room. "Tell him I'm not here, Leah," I said quietly. I knew Leah would be able to hear. If I was any louder, Quil would be able to hear too.

My feet smacked against the hardwood, my heart beating in my ears as I shut the door to my room behind me. I leaned my forehead against the door, sighing loudly, shutting my eyes and allowing my heartbeat to slow.

"Claire."

I screamed, spinning around and finding the light, reliving a moment I had already lived. Quil was standing in front of me, an unreadable expression on his face. It seemed to be mostly concern, which was a look I knew very well from him. But there was more. I couldn't look at him long enough to figure it out.

I looked down at my toes, tapping them against the hardwood. "The window. Again."

"Claire, we should talk about -"

"How was -" I interrupted, knowing exactly what he was about to say. I looked up at him, a smile finding its way to my lips. I pushed myself off the door, walking around him to close the window. The hairs on my arm were sticking up. I told myself it was the biting air, but it might've just been the presence of Quil in my room. "How was everything today?"

He looked surprised at the sudden turn around, but his eyebrows rose, taking a seat on the bed. "Yeah, it was fine. Embry's been a little distracted with Danielle and planning the wedding, but he's still doing okay."

The thought of Embry trying to focus while thinking about flower arrangements and cake tastings made me laugh. That was too easy to do around Quil. I watched as my laughter made Quil smile. "That seems too much like Embry."

"How was work today?"

"It was fine. Boring."

"Oh."

I nodded, a shaky hand sliding into the back pocket of my jeans. I rocked on my feet for a second or two and then I looked at Quil and started to apologize, both of us finding ourselves talking over each other. "I'm sorry I didn't call -"

"I called you this morning, but you -"

Both of us fell silent.

I felt so far from him, so I quickly sat down next to him, his warm, soft skin pressing up against my side. I turned my face, looking him in the eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't call you back. I'm sorry about last night- about everything. I never want to make you feel uncomfortable or -"

"Hey, it's okay." Quil adjusted his body to be facing mine, taking my small hands into his big ones. His comforting voice was an instant perk-up. Suddenly, I didn't feel so nervous and awful about everything. "Last night was a very rough night for you, Claire. I'm sorry if you felt like I was being controlling of you. I never want to do that to you, Claire-Bear." He looked nervous all of the sudden. "Leah told me you've been asking her about imprinting."

I was quickly filled with hope. Quil would tell me. "Quil, what am I missing here? What is imprinting?"

"I wish I could tell you." He looked like he wished he could. He looked like he wanted to. He looked like he was going to. Instead, he lost his pained expression, squeezing my hands. "I can't do that. You have to be the one to bring this on, Claire. And I have to -" He cut himself off, letting out a massive sigh. He then smiled his adorable smile, chuckling a little bit to himself. "I -" I saw one of his hands move in my peripheral, probably to reach up and cup my cheek, but it didn't. He held back - something he had never done.

The air felt so different. It was no longer relaxed. It was tense and tight. The longer we looked at each other, the closer we seemed to drift and the more tight the surrounding area got.

There was no holding back for me, as I pulled my hands out of his, putting them on the sides of his face, encouraging him closer. "Quil."

He stood suddenly and quickly, back facing me as he breathed heavily. His hands fell to his hips and his curly head hung down. My back curved as my shoulders slumped, disappointed at the sudden disconnection.

The air became more suffocating as the silence grew.

And then Quil turned around. Even in the dim light of my bedroom, I could see the thoughts running through his mind as he stared at me. He looked so conflicted. Why? Quil had never looked at me that way before. I didn't like it - not even a little bit.

He sighed a heavy sigh, kneeling down in front of me, placing his hands atop my knees. "Get some sleep, Claire." He leaned forward, his lips gravitating towards my cheek.

I turned my head just slightly, but not too much. His lips connected to my cheek, just millimetres away from my lips. I sucked in a breath and Quil froze in the spot where he was. The silence and tightness grew over the single second neither of us moved. I couldn't form a thought, other than every moment of last night that made me want to be close to him. Every moment over the past couple of months where I needed to touch him and I needed him to touch me. All the times I had fleeting thoughts of Quil's hands on places he would never let himself touch. All of the intense moments where his lips looked so soft and so inviting.

I shifted my face just barely, my lips brushing against his. There was a quick, unbearable moment where I felt him moving away before I pushed hard against him, my lips then firm against his, fit together in what seemed to be perfection for a couple of seconds before he pulled back.

"Oh, Claire..." Quil leaned away slowly, looking me in the eyes. Now he seemed sad. His hands on my leg slowly slid off and he prepared himself to stand back up.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, keeping him exactly where he was. "Quil, I -" I couldn't think of what I wanted to say. I didn't want to risk messing up this moment. I had this feeling from him that he would never kiss me again if I messed up this moment. I needed to say the right thing. What was the right thing to say? "I -"

Quil reached up and detached my arms from him, shaking his head at me, like he used to do when I was child, which felt like the way he was treating me now, at the age of eighteen. His saddened look transferred over to me as he said, "I need to leave." He didn't wait for a response as he walked out of my room, using the door that time. He shut it behind him and I followed the sound of his footsteps until I couldn't bear it anymore.

I stuffed my face into my pillow, pulling the sides around my head to block of the noise of Quil starting Embry's truck.

I felt my face grow red and my eyes start to swell. The exhaustion fell over me harshly, and I forced myself to try and fall asleep rather than cry.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Twilight Series

* * *

6

Choices

I woke up early in the morning, not blissfully as I would've liked. Rather, I woke up with a head full of thoughts. I could feel every moment of the night previous; every tight and tense moment.

I wanted it to go away. I wanted to be able to think clearly. I wanted everything to make sense. Why were these feelings with Quil suddenly surfacing? How did he feel? He seemed conflicted. Did he feel bad for me? Did he feel something for me that he felt he shouldn't? But why shouldn't he?

Every thought in my mind led back to one thing.

Imprinting.

If I could understand what imprinting was, god forbid anyone should want to explain to me, then maybe everything would fall into place. I had no reason for that to be true, but I let myself hope regardless.

The morning turned from slow to fast. I got on my bike, planning to calmly talk to Sam about what was going on in my life. But the more I rode, the faster I pedalled and the more anxious I became. I started breathing heavily, pedalling faster, and thinking a million miles a minute.

The sound of the wheels turning, the branches crunching below the rubber tires and the thoughts in my mind all halted when I arrived at the Uley household.

I couldn't take it anymore. No one would say a revealing word to me. It was always 'talk to Sam' or 'Ask Sam'. If no one was going to tell me, then I surely doubted anyone on the planet ever would - except for Sam.

I knocked on the door. And then I knocked again. And then again.

Emily opened the door, smiling and laughing in the doorway. "In a hurry, kiddo?"

I brushed past her, planting my feet firmly on their hardwood floor, establishing my place in their home, hoping that that alone would be enough for me to will myself to stay and follow through. "Where's Sam?"

"He's in the bedroom getting change." Emily walked over to the little round table, rejoining her cup of coffee I had taken her away from. "It's quite early, you know."

"I need to talk to him."

"About what?"

I spun around, watching Sam emerge from the hallway, doing up the buttons on his plaid flannel. Just seeing his mean-looking face made me start to sweat all over. Why did it feel so wrong to ask? Why was it so hard? "I need to talk to you about..." I trailed off, holding my breath. "About..."

Sam's eyebrows rose as he walked to the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee. He grabbed the piping hot cup in his hands, unfazed by how hot it was, walking over to the table and sitting down beside Emily. "About what, Claire?"

"About imprinting." I said it softly, quietly, and timidly, almost hoping he wouldn't hear me.

Of course he heard me. Sam heard everything. He looked at me, and without skipping a beat, he said, "Nothing to concern yourself with, Claire."

My nervousness was quick to turn into annoyance as I reached into my book bag and pulled out the old, blue book. I just barely tossed it, letting it dramatically slap onto the wooden table. "It's my concern, Sam. It always has been, hasn't it?"

Sam pushed the book away from him, back towards me. "You're not ready."

"Even Quil won't tell me. Everyone is telling me to talk to you about it."

"You shouldn't be asking anyone about imprinting, especially Quil."

"Why especially Quil?" Sam didn't answer. I was looking for a trigger - something to get him to take me seriously. "I kissed Quil."

His eyes snapped to me, a look of shock and confusion rushing over his face in a second before his facial expression returned to normal. He nodded slowly, gesturing to the chair. I let out a breath and sat down, watching as Sam got comfortable in his chair. "I don't want you to be scared or confused, Claire. Imprinting is a very hard concept to grasp and to understand." He looked at me like he used to when I was just a child. "You're so young. I wasn't expecting to have to do this so soon."

Emily laid her hand over Sam's, giving him a nod of encouragement. "She will understand, Sam, just like I did."

My eyes were trained to Sam, watching every little move he made, careful to watch for giveaways. "What does that mean?"

Sam looked at me with his dark and intimidating eyes. "What do you know?"

"Very little," I said honestly, glancing at the book for a millisecond, not wanting to take my eyes off of Sam. "Just something about it being a wolf thing, being bound to someone, being priority, soulamate-type thing, and...the whole thing being involuntary." The last word tasted like dirt in my mouth; involuntary. It disgusted me.

Sam didn't hesitate much before jumping right in. I was sure he had practiced the entire speech in his mind for a very long time. "Shape-shifters, at some point, will imprint. Jared and Kim, Embry and Dani, Paul and Rachel -" He squeezed Emily's hands. "And Emily and I. When he imprints, the imprintee will become his world, his priority, the most important thing in the world to him, above everything else, with the only exception of his pack."

I nodded slowly. "Ok. Keep going."

"The imprinter will do anything for his imprintee. He lives to please her. He lives to protect her. She is his soulmate. He would change anything and everything for her. He will be whatever she needs him to be. He will do whatever she needs him to do."

I let out a struggling breath. "Why even imprint? Falling in love with that person isn't enough?"

"No one know for sure. It's my belief that the imprinter will imprint on their "perfect match" - someone they will have the highest chance to reproduce with, to carry on the shape-shifting gene and ensure the survival of our species. Billy Black thinks its design is to make the imprinter stronger, but neither theories have ever been proven to be true."

"So when the imprinter chooses -"

"He doesn't."

"What?"

"Choose."

Involuntary. The pain in my heart grew. "Neither of them get to choose?"

"The imprinter doesn't choose who he imprints on. The imprintee can choose whether to accept him as her soulmate."

I asked a question I was almost scared to hear the answer to. "And what if she doesn't?"

Sam had a hardened glare. "It's very unlikely to happen. It's virtually impossible. The imprintee should be a perfect match for the imprinter. He would be anything she wants or -"

"But if it _did_ happen?" I watched him carefully. "What would he do?"

"It would be a indescribable pain." He moved on quickly. "But if that was truly what she wanted - what she needed - then the imprinter would do that for her."

"And live out the rest of his life sad and alone, only living for the hope that she will one day return to him? Is that correct?"

"Yes." Same seemed so calm. He wasn't the least bit concerned of how awful it all was sounding. "Claire -" His everything softened. "All of the people I have known to imprint have been happy. The imprintee is happy. Everyone is happy. This is nature ensuring our happiness and survival. Nature's forces are helping us, not hurting us."

"But you guys don't even have a choice. What if you love someone else or you're dating someone else and then you imprint? How is that fair to anyone?"

"Claire -"

"It's not! I -"

"Claire, when you came to visit when you were three and Quil imprinted on you -"

I sucked in a breath, my eyes glossing over almost instantly. I pushed myself from the table, standing up, holding my hand over my mouth. I paced for a second or two, replaying the sentence Sam had just said over and over.

When Quil imprinted on you.

Of course that was a thought that came into my mind, but the more I started to learn, the more I wanted it all not to be true. I didn't want Quil to have imprinted on me. I wanted him to have a choice. Suddenly, every happy moment in my life with Quil felt very played out and insincere. Every moment I was picturing, I was picturing Quil being _stuck._ There was no version of any memory anymore where Quil actually _wanted_ to spend time with me.

"Quil...imprinted of me." I looked between Sam and Emily. "He didn't choose me. He got stuck with me."

Emily stood quickly, her kind voice and hands working quickly. "No, Claire." Her hands landed on my shoulders and arms, rubbing comfortably. "Quil loves you. He imprinted on you. You are the most important thing to him. You're his soulmate, Claire, and I know you think he's yours."

Of course I felt like Quil was my soulmate! He had been with me through my whole life. He was the person I was closest too. He was the only person in the world I would do anything for and not question it. But what if I only felt that way because Quil imprinted on me?

I shook my head, taking a step away from her. "I need time." I grabbed my book bag and the old, blue book, jogging towards the door. "To think." I ran out of the house, getting onto my bike and riding off as quick as I could pedal. I was in a low gear and I felt the pedals moving fast than my feet. I pulled my feet up, the feeling of the pedals slamming against my feet causing me to seethe. In the state I was in, I switched gears without pedaling and without thinking. The sudden switch of gears cause my bike to halt, launching me forward.

My body hit the ground with a thud. I rolled for a short second, coming to a stop on my side. I groaned, feeling the immediate internal ache in my arm and leg. The external pain was my knees and my cheek. For a moment, I just laid there, taking a couple of deeps breaths. And then I planted my hands on the ground, pushing myself up to stand. I wiped the dirt and rocks from the wide scrapes on my knees. I reached up and wiped my cheek, suspecting another scrape across there.

I leaned down, pulling my bike up from the handle bars and climbing back onto it. I couldn't handle sitting there and allowing myself to think. I only needed to be back home, where I felt safe and comfortable.

* * *

I smoothed the thick gel over the red marks on my knees, biting my lips as I did. Washing them out hurt, but this was somehow worse, but the instant relief that came with the gel once I had finished rubbing it in was wort it.

I moved onto my cheek, the door swinging open for Leah to grab something from the cabinet.

"What happened?" She watched my careful, the concern clear on her face.

"I fell off my bike."

Her concern turned to annoyance. "Well, were you wearing a helmet?"

"Obviously not," I snapped back, screwing the lid back onto the magical gel, throwing it into the drawer and pushing past her into the hallway.

Just before my bedroom door closed, she yelled, "Serves you right, then!"

The door to my bedroom slammed and I groaned loudly, throwing my book bag onto my bed. The old, blue book peeked out of the edge. Looking at that book - at the very thing that started all this mess about imprinting - the anger inside of me was like anything I had ever felt.

It wasn't fair to Quil! It wasn't fair to me! He didn't ask for this! I didn't ask for this! What the hell was I supposed to do now?!

I grabbed the book, letting it fall open in my hands. I took that as I sign for the go ahead to cast a firm grip around about twenty pages or so and just _rip._ I ripped and ripped and kept going until the area around me was covered in sad pages and all that was left between the two covers of the book were a couple of small spots that I didn't feel the precision to get. And then I tossed the book against the room, falling onto my bed and sighing.

It took about thirty seconds for Leah to barge in from the noise, see the mess, and go off. "What in the hell are you doing?"

I spun around to face her, feeling a wild and burning anger I never recalled ever feeling in my entire life. "How could you not tell me?! How could you not tell me that Quil imprinted on me?" She opened her mouth to speak, but I wouldn't let her. "You just watched your entire life as Quil was stuck with me? And no one has said _anything_ to me!"

Leah wasn't the person with the soft demeanor. When someone yelled at her, she was going to yell back, and that was exactly what she did. "We had to wait, Claire! It would've been too overwhelming for you to know at such a young age. You're too young now to know." She shook her head, anger evident all over her face and body. "Sam told you. Why would he do that?"

I had realized my face was wet with tears until I reached up to touch the sting on my cheek. I let my hand fall away, looking Leah in the eyes. I was done yelling. The anger was gone and the sadness that replaced it was overbearing. "I kissed Quil." I sobbed, sinking to the floor, feeling the side of my bed dig into my spine as I wrapped my knees up into my chest.

"Claire..." Leah immediately sunk down also, on her knees in front of me. "I know it's hard to understand."

"It's impossible to understand!" I told her, just as confused and worried as ever. "Quil imprinted on me. He never chose me! If he hadn't imprinted on me, he would've just been another guy in the pack, like Paul or Jake! He would have _never_ become close with me if the universe hadn't forced him to!" Leah tried to reach out for me, but I moved away. "None of the feelings he has for me are real." I looked at her, saddened beyond belief. "And you all watched and let me fall in love with him over and over again knowing that."

"It's real, Claire."

It sounded so insincere, so fake coming from her mouth. She didn't believe a word she was saying, so why was she trying to convince me?

"Get out." I didn't want to hear whatever speech she was going to force herself to tell me. Knowing how she really felt about imprinting was enough for me to solidify my own beliefs. I stood quickly, crawling onto my bed and sliding under the covers. I waited until I heard Leah stand and leave to continue crying to myself.

I cried until I had a headache. And then I waited for the headache to leave, falling asleep in the process.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Twilight Series

* * *

7

Confessing

I had spent two too many days alone in my room. Someone - likely Leah or Sam - had told everyone in the pack to give me the space I needed. I wondered over and over again how Quil was coping.

And then I would remember that none of it was real. I forced Quil from my mind, which turned out to be the most exhausting thing I ever had to do. I was done with the headaches and the stuffy air and the crying.

I needed to get out of this house. Embry always left his truck around with the keys. I took it as an invitation to go and do something.

One of the least relaxing places in all of Forks - the cliffs at the beach, was where I decided to kick back this particular day. The whole sky was gray, on the edge of what might've been rain, though it usually never did this time of year. My feet dangled over the edge, feeling the rocks jab into my legs as the swung in the air. I breathed in the salty air very deeply, enjoying the noisy silence as I thought the last couple of days over.

It was very early in the morning. If you could see the sun, it would just be coming up over the ocean. The air was on the chilly side, but nothing that I couldn't handle. I sat on top of the tallest cliff, waxing and waxing and waxing my board, letting my mind running over and over again.

The more I tried not to think about him, the more I did.

Quil...

Quil had been apart of my life for a very long time, and now he wasn't there. It my fault that he wasn't around. I didn't want him around, but I missed him so much. But every time I thought about missing him, I thought about imprinting.

I shook my head, trying my best to leave those thoughts behind. I hopped up, bringing myself and my board back down the path to go do a little bit of surfing. As soon as my board slapped against the water, I felt unsettled.

The water was colder than I thought. The waves were rougher than I thought. My arms were tired, my brain was tired. I felt very off.

I didn't know what was wrong with me. I usually couldn't form a thought when up on that board, but the thoughts about the incredibly stressful last couple days never left my mind. It was hard to focus. I simply didn't have any focus. I slipped up. I missed my opportunity to ride out the wave. I'd gone too far in - too close to the cliffs. Now it was all rock. I slipped up, and then I slipped off.

The nose of my board dipped down into the water, launching me forward into the dark waves. Water filled my lungs instantly as I felt my body whip around violently in all kind of directions. Finally, I surfaced, watching a monstrous wave growing in the distance. It knocked into me, taking everything out of my body. When I surfaced again, the adrenaline in my body pumped and all my energy and strength went to my arms and legs. I swam as hard as I possibly could until I felt my feet kick against the sand and then my knees. I crawled onto the beach, letting myself cough and trying to get out all the terribly tasting water in my lungs.

Holy shit.

I took a deep breath, crawling further away from the water and lying down in the sand. I felt the sting in my arm as grains of sand entered an open gash that I hadn't noticed. The side of my right arm was split open, revealing the dark colour of my blood. It looked mildly deep, teetering on the edge of whether stitches were necessary or not. Now that I had noticed it, it hurt very badly.

Whatever rock I barely scraped up against cut though my wetsuit and through a part of my arm. I was lucky. I was lucky it wasn't a major artery. I was lucky it wasn't my head. I was really, really lucky.

After a couple dozen minutes of recuperating, I managed to make my way back to Embry's truck. When I got there, I tossed my board in the back and I tried delicately to peel off my wetsuit. I tossed that in the back, knowing that now it was no good. I hopped in the front and started the old truck, searching in the glove box for anything to help. There was a small, old-looking roll of gauze, which was the only thing that would have to do.

I braided my hair back away from my face and wrapped my upper arm the best I could with the one hand I had. After that, I took another deep breath and I started to drive back into Forks, to the hospital.

I had fallen of my bike, I had fallen off my board, I had fallen off my wagon. I was out of my mind and in my mind too much at the same time. I couldn't do anything right. I felt uneasy all the time.

Life just seemed to get more and more stressful, the hospital being no exception.

"Yeah." The doctor dropped my arm, returning to her clipboard, pursing her lips. She looked unimpressed, either with the gash or with me, I was unsure. "It's gonna need _something._ "

"What does something mean?" I held tightly onto the edge of the hospital bed, legs swinging around in the air.

"We could do stitches, but we might not even need that..." She looked at my arm once again. She was short and incredibly thin, with a skinny face that came to a point. Her fingers were long and he eyes were harsh, but she seemed good at her job. "Skin glue could work."

"Skin..." My brows furrowed. "Glue?"

"It's a medical-grade adhesive. It'll do the job just fine." She let her clipboard fall down to her side as she sighed, glancing at the doorway. "Where is your parent or guardian?"

That was the worst part. When they asked if there was anyone I could call, I could really only think of one person. As much as I wanted that one person to not pick up their phone, they still did.

I looked at the doorway. "Uh, well -"

Perfect timing.

Leah walked through the doorway, pyjamas on, sporting a very mean look on her face. Her hair was sticking up in the back and her feet dragged on the floor. She looked very tired. It was still very early. And very angry, which I wasn't at all surprised at. She walked over to my bedside. "What happened?"

"I grazed up against a rock after wiping out on my board."

"Are you okay?" She asked. She was looking at me. She could see that I was awake, coherent, and mostly totally fine. She didn't seem concerned, just angered.

"I'm fine. I just have a cut on my arm, that's all."

"Oh, good," Leah said to me. Immediately, her arm reached up and she smacked the back of my head. After my neck jolted forward, I looked up at her and awaited what she needed to say. "What were you thinking? Going out to surf without telling anyone? And in this weather, Claire? And this early? Honestly -" She breathed out heavily, falling down into the chair against the wall. Her head fell into her hands. "What is going on with you?" She looked up at me, showing me a look I rarely saw. I instantly felt terrible for everything I had done. Leah glanced at the doctor, dialling back the personal stuff for the moment. "What's going to happen?"

"A form of stitches," the doctor said. "Skin glue."

"Skin..." Her brows furrowed. "Glue?"

"That's correct."

Leah shook her head. "Okay." She stood, rubbing her eyes and then crossing her arms over her chest. "How expensive?"

"It'll be around two-hundred dollars. Three-hundred with the antibiotics."

I nodded at the doctor, eyes trained on her tall and skinny figure - anything to be able to avoid Leah's burning gaze. I knew the heat that I felt was coming off of her. All of the anger and frustration - it was all Leah.

After the doctor did her doctor thing, to which Leah glared at me the entire time, Leah and I found ourselves in the car, me reading from the sheet of paper the doctor had given me.

"The glue should peel off within five to seven days," I read, moving to the next bullet point. "The scar should take six months to fade." I sighed, folding the paper and holding it out to Leah. "Here."

She took it from my hands forcefully, tucking it into the pocket of her sweater. "You're grounded, if it wasn't very obvious."

"Why?" I knew it was irrational to be angry with Leah. I _knew_ that. She got up very early in the morning to come pick me up from the hospital, as well as pay for my arm to be better, and she hadn't yelled at me up until that point. But I was still upset. "It's not my fault that waves were rough."

"No, it isn't, but it's your responsibly to use that fact to make appropriate decisions." Leah was firm in her voice, just like she always was. She decided to look over at me at the exact moment that I rolled my eyes. "Really? That is how you're going to act?"

I shook my head, shrugging. I honestly had no idea what to say to Leah to calm her down, though I knew that was not ever a possibility. "I don't know what to say, Leah." I scoffed, looking out the window. "I'm not a kid."

"Well, you're sure acting like one!" Leah yelled. She sighed. I imagined her shaking her head. "I know it's hard, kiddo, but it's no reason to act out. We were all expecting for you feelings to become obvious eventually, but we didn't expect this reaction."

"How do you want me to react?" I looked at her, waiting for her to say anything at all. "You're trying to tell me that it's real but I see the look on your face, Leah. You don't think it is either."

She just stared at the road ahead of her, not saying anything.

I undid my seatbelt, opening the car door, making Leah slam on the brakes and yell at me. I got out of the car, slamming the door behind me. I knew Leah and I knew she would just drive away and let me be, which she did. I was thankful for at least that.

She knew I knew where I was. I knew Forks like the back of my hand, and the back of my hand was going to lead me to the only two people I knew that weren't wrapped up in this confusing, heartbreaking world I was surrounded by.

* * *

We were sitting in the dimly lit cabin - Kato, Anna, and I. The three of us strewn throughout the space. Kato was on the couch, Anna sprawled out on the carpet, and I, sitting on the floor, legs crossed, bong sitting in front of me.

The cabin was essentially just a big square. It was very tiny, but big enough for a compact kitchen, a small table with a couple chairs and two couches, which sat on the edge of the big, tribal carpet in the center of the room. It was just a place where we could be, away from their place, my place, and everyone else.

I passed the bong along, making sure Anna had a firm grip before I let go. I leaned back, letting my back hit the couch. I looked up at the wooden ceiling. I never imagined myself in this cabin, in this state of mind, doing this with Kato and Anna.

I just remembered smoking weed and the feeling of thinking so many things and not being able to remember or logically put things together, which sounded so perfect to me at that moment - that moment where I couldn't turn my brain off for the life of me, where I couldn't stop thinking.

"Where's the party tonight?"

"It's at Caleb's," Kato said loudly. "That dumbass is having a party of a Sunday night."

I laughed at the two of them. "Doesn't that make you guys dumb for going?"

Anna sat up quickly, pointing a stern finger at me. She smiled widely. " _We_ are dumb for going." She left the bong to crawl over to me, sitting down beside me and pressing her body into mine. "We're all going."

I liked Kato and Anna enough but I really didn't feel like going to a party. Especially not when I had to work early in the morning.

"The problem is -" Kato sat up too, looking at Anna first and then looking at me. "The party is not for another couple hours. What do we do to fill the time, ladies?"

There was no hesitation for both of them to turn and look at me. Their eyes were vacant, yet intense. The redness surrounding their brown irises made them all the more intense.

Anna reached out, first running her thumb over the scrape on my cheek and then along my eyebrow. "What to you think, Kato? Eyebrow?"

Kato pretended to think, leaving me incredibly confused. "Maybe lip?"

Anna's finger fell down to my lips. I wrapped my hand around her hand, pulling it away from my face. I looked between the two of them, the nervousness growing as I thought more and more of what they were capable of. "What are you guys talking about?"

Things moved incredibly quickly from there. Kato and Anna were quick to rush me into the bathroom, with not too much of en explanation. I was too nervous, to scared, and not brave enough to say anything to stop them. Besides, I had always wanted a nose piercing.

Anna dabbed a cotton swab soaked in rubbing alcohol on my nose roughly. She held her hand out behind her head, waggling her fingers. "Needle, Kato."

What was I thinking? I never wanted a nose piercing.

"Hey, guys."

Anna brought the needle up to my nose, barely glancing at me. "On three, okay, Claire-y."

"Okay, but -"

"One, two -"

"Ow!" The intensely centered pain was shocking on the count of two rather than three. I immediately pushed Anna away, opening my eyes to glare at her. "Anna!"

Both of them laughed, Kato moving around Anna took take my face in my hands, turning it side to side. "You might be too sweet for it, Claire-uh." He stopped examining my face to look me in the eyes. "Your face is too sweet."

"Shut up, Kato." Anna pushed him out of the way, smiling at me. "She just needs another piercing to even them out."

"No!" I shook my head quickly, feeling the counter jab into my back as I moved away from the two of them.

"Relax, C," Kato said, in his deep and scratchy voice. "We just have to put the piercing in and then you're all set, all right?"

Why did I let that happen? I had regretted it the moment they suggested the idea, though it was less of a suggestion and more of a command. I hadn't thought it over too much until Anna had the needle in her very dangerous hands.

When I looked at myself in the mirror, Anna was standing behind me, pushing my long, dark hair over my shoulders and telling me how pretty I was. The small gold hoop now sticking out of was nose looked quite dumb, if I was being honest. I didn't like it, but I wasn't about to take it out of my nose in front of the two of them.

And then we went to Caleb's house, where the air was hot and the music was loud and _everyone_ was drunk or high or inebriated in some way.

Everyone looked like they were having fun - a genuinely good time. The more Kato, Anna and I walked around and talked, the more I wished I was home cooking dinner with Leah, or listening the Seth talk about his wonderful girlfriend, or watching a movie with Quil.

I was sitting on the couch, playing with my new nose piercing when Anna fell into my lap, wrapping her arms around me. Her face was very close to mine as she leaned in and whispered, "Don't play with it. It's gonna get infected."

I looked at her, every second just making me wish I was home. "Anna, do you think you or Kato could take me home?"

"Awe, no," Anna drawled, tucking my hair behind my ear. She pouted for a small second. "Stay, Claire." She smiled wickedly, the alcohol on her breath becoming more apparent the closer she got. She got too close and then she pressed her lips against mine.

"No, Anna." I jerked away, looking at her with widened eyes. "What are you doing."

She played with my hair, completely unfazed by what had just happened. "You just seem so sad, Claire. I just want you to have so fun."

I sighed, blinking slowly, giving myself any time at all to gather my thoughts. "Anna, I really want to go home."

Anna, to my surprise, softened up, moving out of my lap to stand. She held out her hand, pulling me off the couch and to the door. "I haven't had anything to drink yet. I can take you home."

I felt the coolness of the air as I watched Anna's dad's truck come into view. "You're allowed to drive the truck?"

"What everyone doesn't know won't hurt them." She walked confidently toward the truck, waiting until I climbed inside the start the thing. She put the truck into drive, pulling out of the driveway. "I'm sorry for kissing you, Claire."

I could feel myself start to blush at the very fresh, very vivid memory. "That's okay, Anna."

"I don't want Quil to come give me a talking to either, so let him know I apologized."

I simply laughed. "Why would you say that? You know Quil and I aren't together."

Anna looked over at me, eyebrow raised. "Yeah, right." She shook her head, looking out at the road ahead of her, smiling widely. "I have never two people so in love in my entire life. Honestly, Claire, you don't see it? The dude looks at you like you're his life."

Because he imprinted on me. Because he had no choice.

"Yeah," I replied, rolling down the window to catch the fresh air. That's all I had, immediately sucked back into my mind to overthink everything. Apparently Anna didn't have anything either because the rest of the ride was silent.

And when I got home, everything surrounding the house seemed just as silent. When Anna's dad's truck faded into the distance, I turned and looked at the house - at the surrounding trees and flowers. I had only been away for a day, but I missed the house.

I opened the front door to the darkened place, taking a harsh intake of breath when the lights came on. "Sweet jesus!"

"Claire!" A blur that looked a lot like Seth came rushing toward me, wrapping me up into a tight hug. "You're okay."

I could see Leah over his shoulder, sitting on the arm of the couch, looking incredibly relieved but stiff, arms crossed, mouth tight. I focused on Seth, hugging him back. "Yeah, I'm fine. What -"

Leah stood, walking over to the two of us. "You didn't think to call and say that you would be out late? After you practically jumped from the truck earlier?"

"I -"

Leah stared at me, arms still crossed, mouth still tight. "Seth, go to your room."

It would be typical of Seth to argue, though he didn't. He put a hand on my shoulder, offering a light squeeze before disappearing down the dark hallway. That left me and Leah in the dim living room/kitchen. I wasn't ready for this.

She took another step closer, brows furrowing, eyes stuck on my nose. "What is -" She saw the distinct gold hoop, steam coming out of her nose. "Take that thing out of your face right now."

I finally let out the breath I was holding, walking around her. "I was gonna take it out anyway." I made my way to the bathroom, looking in the mirror and reaching up to figure out the best way to go about it. I glanced at Leah in the doorway, arms still crossed. "What?"

"Do you have any idea how worried we have been?"

I pulled the nose ring out slowly, setting it down on the counter. "I don't know what to fuckin' tell you, Leah."

She grabbed my arm, yanking me to face her. Her hand was strong and her face was strong, sticking to a angry-shocked expression. "What has gotten into you? Hospitals and piercings and attitude -" Her eyebrows rose. "And you reek of weed."

I was so exhausted; exhausted from the whole night, from the whole day, from the past couple of days. I didn't want to argue. I didn't want to think. I just wanted to sleep. "Leah, please, can I just sleep?"

"No!" She was yelling now. "You're not going anywhere until you can explain to me why you've adopted this shit attitude!"

"I just found out everything I thought was my life actually isn't!" I didn't want to scream, but it just came out, which made the following silence all the more painful. "And I don't know how to cope. Quil..." My brows furrowed, hoping and praying that the tears pooling in my eyes wouldn't spill over. "It's unfair, Leah. It's unfair to him and it's unfair to me. I just wish -" I swallowed the tears back. "I just wish it was real."

"It's real."

I shook my head. "Nice try, Lee."

Leah sighed loudly, taking her small, but strong hands and placing them on my shoulders to move me back. She closed the door, leaning against it, shrinking away from me in a way I had never seen. "It's real, Claire. As much as I wish it wasn't, it is."

My brows furrowed, becoming alarmed at how Leah was acting - sad, defeated, and vulnerable. Three things I rarely had seen her be over the eighteen years of my life. "Leah, what's going on?"

She looked at me with tired, sad eyes and she told me something I had never known. She explained. "Sam and I started dating freshman year of high school. We dated for three years and I fell so -" She paused, looking over my head for a moment and then back to me. "And then he went away and I didn't understand why, and when he came back, he was different. I didn't understand at the time that he had shifted for the first time , but he did. Everything went back to normal for a little while and then Emily came to La Push to visit and...and Sam imprinted on her."

My heart sank. The pain in her voice, the look on her face. "Leah..."

"I was so angry when Sam broke up with me. I wanted Emily to reject him. I wanted them not to be together so bad because - because Sam had never looked at me the way he looked at Emily - the way he looks at Emily." Leah became less upset, adapting a more factual and cold exterior - her usual. "I was angry for a really long time. And when I found out about imprinting, I told myself it wasn't real. I told myself that Sam would come back to me." She sighed. "It took me a really long time to get over it, and even after all this time I question whether it's real because I have never experienced imprinting." She licked her lips quickly, eyes coming to meet mine. "But then I see the way Sam and Emily look at each other - the way Seth and Tara look at each other, the way Embry and Danielle look at each other." She smiled the slightest bit. "The way Quil looks at you, and it makes me wonder how I ever could've doubted it in the first place."

Leah - the cynic of all cynics - was standing in front of me, pouring her whole, entire heart out to me, telling me that imprinting was real.

"But -"

Leah stepped forward, placing her hands on my arms, shaking her head. "But nothing. Quil loves you, Claire, in the most genuine, real way. He's completely happy with how his life has gone 'cause you've been in it. He's made it clear that he would go back and do it this way over and over and over again if he had to. He wouldn't change his life for the entire world, Claire. He's not stuck. He's happy."

"Leah..." I wrapped my arms around her tightly, her hard and muscular body quickly turning soft and comforting as she returned the gesture. "Leah, I didn't know about - I didn't know that Sam - I - I'm sorry."

She squeezed me tightly, breathing into my hair. "It was a really long time ago. I'm just glad I can tell you about it now and use it as a lesson." She leaned away. "You should understand that Quil -" She tilted her head, eye shifting to the front of the house. "Quil."

"What?"

"Quil came by for you and we told him that we couldn't find you, so he went looking for you and now he's back." Leah opened the door to the bathroom, moving into the hallway as I heard the front door slam.

"She's not a Sam's. She's not anywhere, Leah, I don't -"

I came into the hallway, looking at Quil at the end of the hallway. He looked so desperately worried that it hurt me. And the instant and heavy relief that fell on him when he saw me was heartbreaking.

Every moment that I had spent avoiding thinking about Quil or talking about Quil or simply avoiding Quil himself seemed so idiotic. I hadn't realized until I was looking at him right then and there how much I had missed him.

His shoulders fell slightly, letting out a breath of pure relief. "Claire."

"Quil." I ran past Leah, holding my arms open as I quickened my pace to get to Quil. I got a couple feet from him before he placed his big hands on me, yanking me towards him and wrapping his warm arms around me. I sighed into his chest, all the unsettling feelings I had finally settling.

He pushed me away from him, one hand of his hands on my shoulder, the other on my face. "Claire -" His eyes darted up over my head, looking at Leah.

I didn't look back, but I pictured Leah backing into the hallway. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

Quil's eyes came back to mine - soft and brown and far more forgiving than I deserved. "Claire, I was so worried about you and I -"

"Quil," I interrupted, reaching up to pull his hand away from my face. I took a step away from him, nodding toward the hallway. "Let's go to my room, okay?" I held out my hand for him to take, which he did, letting me lead him down the hallway into my bedroom. He walked into the room, standing at the edge of my bed while I stood by the door.

"Claire?"

I turned around, looking him over - his tall, muscular, warm, safe frame. His curls were messy on top of his head and his face was all concern and nothing else. "Quil, I'm sorry for worrying you tonight, and I'm sorry for avoiding you these past couple of days."

"It's fine." He was too forgiving. I didn't deserve it, but he was willing to give it out anyway. He looked like he was relaxing a little bit. "Sam told me that he told you about imprinting as soon as he did. He told me about your reaction, Claire, which...I understand."

He's the only person that ever understood completely.

My brows furrowed in an attempt not to cry. "Why did you never tell me?"

Quil took a big step forward. "I did want to." And then he took a smell step back, sensing that I needed the distance to be able to have this conversation. "I wanted to tell you for so long, but Sam said that I should wait until..." He sucked in a breath, looking a little empty in the eyes as he recalled a memory.

I shrugged. "Until what?"

"Until you showed...a romantic love for me," Quil said, ever so softly, making a shiver run down my spine. "Something more than a friendship. I was supposed to wait until you took things to the next stage."

"I did and you still didn't tell me." Now I was confused. After I kissed Quil...still, no one mentioned anything.

"I didn't tell anyone." Quil shook his head, now seeing how irrational that was. He stuttered for a moment and then he said, "I thought that moment was never going to come. I convinced myself that you would never see me that way and I was becoming comfortable with the fact that you would be with someone else." The words were strained - 'be with someone else'. "And then you kissed me and I didn't know what to think. I told myself that you were confused, unsure, or experimenting - I didn't know, and I didn't know if you really felt that way for me. And then you told Sam..."

"And then Sam told me."

"Claire -" Again, he went to take a step forward, but he didn't. He held back. Why was he still holding back? "Claire, you need to understand that, however you feel, I will always love you. I will always be here for you." His lips parted after being pressed tightly together. "You're my soulmate, Claire. I'll be whatever you want me to be."

"I don't want you to have to do that." I hated hearing that. I started feeling the tears come on, but I still stayed close to the door, unmoving. "I don't want you to have to live your life always concerned with me. It feels so trapped, Quil. I feel like the worst person in the world for doing this to you!" I sobbed, covering my mouth over with my hand. Quil rushed toward me, ready to wrap me up in an embrace, but I held out my hand, signalling for him not to move.

"It doesn't feel that way for me."

"How would you know any different? You get stuck with someone and the world tells you that you're happy about it!" I shook my head, feeling lost all over again. "Wouldn't you rather have that freedom to choose?"

"No!" Quil's voice was getting loud, which it often never did unless he was passionate about something. "No, I don't care about that, Claire! I don't need to choose. The universe brought me to you, and that's good enough for me. My soul is bound to yours and I couldn't be happier about it."

I felt the pain in my chest. "If you hadn't of imprinted on me, you would be standing here having this exact conversation, saying these exact things to a whole different person, Quil - a whole different girl."

Quil shook his head. "No. I can't imagine my imprintee being anyone but you."

"Because you were never given a choice to think otherwise."

He shook his head again, harder that time, curls shaking. The redness came to his face, his lips pressed against each other. "I don't know how else to convince you, Claire. I thought of this moment so differently. I didn't think it would be this hard to convince you that I love you." He finally looked defeated. "I love you, Claire."

I love you.

It was the least uncommon thing for Quil and I to say to each other. But standing there, in front of him then, every word, every syllable was heavier and held more meaning than I ever heard before.

"You're my life, Claire. I love you." His voice was soft and quiet, just like it usually was. "I wouldn't change this life for any other life because get you. The universe doesn't need to tell me anything, because I know in my heart and soul that, with everything I am, _I love you_."

It didn't feel rehearsed, but it felt very true. He spoke confidently and firmly, as if he really and truly believed and felt what he was saying. I thought back to Leah, the one person in this world who found the negative in everything, telling me about how imprinting was the realest love she had ever seen. Leah's confession, along with the look on Quil's face, was enough to convince me.

He breathed heavily, looking exhausted, defeated, and like he just wanted to touch me. "I love you, Claire."

A big breath came out of my mouth, body relaxing into the doorway. I looked up at him, eyes sore from all the crying I had previously done. I felt the relief wash over me in the heaviest, most dramatic fashion. "I love you too, Quil, so much."

He let himself step closer. His eyes were wide and hopeful and his hands looked eager to reach out. "Like a -"

"Romantic love, Quil." I chuckled as he stepped closer. My laugh made him laugh as he reached out and put his hands on the sides of my face, bring our lips together in a short, soft and sweet kiss.

He pulled away, a sexy smile on his lips. "Oh, Claire." His arms wrapped around me and he brushed his nose against mine. He backed away a little bit further, eyes boring into mine. "This was a bit closer to how I pictured it."

I laughed, hand sliding over his pecs and torso, feeling the softness of his tanned skin. I smiled up at him, feeling the exact same love that I had always felt between us - it was just that small bit more special.

The room was quiet, blinds wide open to let the moonlight in on the weirdly clear night. It was lighting every strand of Quil's curly hair, making it almost irresistible.

I reached up, running my hands through his hair. Quil closed his eyes and hummed, sighing. He tilted his head back, exposing his perfectly smooth, thick neck to me. My arms slid around his torso, both hands splayed across his back, nails digging in slightly to bring him closer to me so that I could easily push up on my tip toes and press my lips to the side of his neck, just above his collarbone.

Quil's head snapped down to me, eyes slightly widened at the bold move.

I stared up at him, pressing my body into his. "Quil, I -" I felt heat all over my body; my face, my hands, my stomach, even my toes. The heat was everywhere. My heart was pounding so hard, the sound echoed in my eyes. I watched him watch me and then I couldn't resist.

I lurched forward, throwing both my arms around his neck, the momentum of my body crashing into his, causing him the fall back onto the bed. I didn't waste any time crawling on top of him. Though my movements were fast, my kisses were slower. Our tongues touched as I pressed into him. A growl surfaced from the back of Quil's throat as he spun us around and pinned me down pushing me into the soft mattress.

Finally. Finally, he was allowing himself to kiss me and touch me and do what we both wanted. It was like a gate had opened. And I never wanted it to close ever again.

The old pyjama shirt I was wearing was not my favourite, but it still shocked me when Quil's hands gripped the collar, yanking hard and ripping the shirt all the way down the middle.

He was so strong. So intense. So passionate. I had never seen him that way. He didn't have a gentle touch anymore. I almost didn't recognize him for a split second, but then his soft and gentle hands pushed and pulled the shirt until it was off my body, careful not to twist or pull my arms in any way.

And so there I was, lying beneath him, in just my panties and nothing else. Quil looked over my body - my breasts - and then he looked back into my eyes, leaning down again and kissing me.

My hands ran through his hair and then his neck and then back. Eventually my hands found the back of the top of his jeans. I moved my hands around to the front, unbuttoning the button. I knew he didn't have any underwear on underneath. I unzipped the zipper, trying to tug the jean cut-offs down as far as I could reach. Quil got off of me, standing at the end of the bed. He pulled his pants down, allowing a full view for me to see. He then reached forward, gripping the top of my panties and pulling them down slowly.

I felt very exposed, but not uncomfortable. Quil seemed to feel the same. He crawled over me again, kissing me gently. I felt every part of him - bare on bare. He positioned himself between my legs, eyes connecting with mine.

"Tell me you're sure," he said. "Or tell me to stop."

I smiled lightly. "I've never been so sure of anything, Quil," I told him, craning my neck up to make my lips meet his. I felt him against me and then -

My mouth opened against him as I gasped. My fingers dug into his back, the intense, slow feeling was a sensation I had never felt before in my life. He moved his hips backward and then forward again. I moaned loudly without thinking. I couldn't hold anything in. I couldn't focus on any other feeling other than just the one.

"Talk to me," he said, a little breathless.

"I'm okay," I said quickly, feeling the warmth all over my body. I nodded, giving him a reassuring look. "I'm good."

He nodded too, leaning down to kiss me again as he moved his hips forward and backward, picking up the pace everyone couple of seconds or so. My hands ran up and down his back and down to his butt, encouraging his hips.

He pushed against my left leg, and I bent it, letting my knee come up and closer to my chest, allowing the feeling of us together to intensify greatly. His hand slid over my leg and up my side. He wrapped his hand around the back of my neck, letting our faces come together, and for our lips to connect.

He was strong, but gentle, but everything Emily said was all making sense. It was the most intense feeling I had ever felt. Quil couldn't help but to _not_ hold back. Both of us started to glisten from sweat. The heat inside my body was nearly unbearable, especially with him so close to me.

But even with all that - it was amazing. That was the best word to describe it, really; amazing. I couldn't think of another word that fit better. Maybe perfect. Maybe incredible. Amazing fit best.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Twilight Series

* * *

8

Conclusively

I moved into the kitchen - the deafeningly quiet kitchen. My eyes searched for Quil, who was not with me when I woke up just moments ago. Instead of Quil, I saw Leah. She was sitting on the couch, cup of coffee in hand, watching TV in a pair of cropped sweatpants.

She turned at the creaking of wood beneath my feet. She looked at me for a long second. "You slept in. It's 12."

That would make sense as to why Quil was nowhere to be found. It didn't make a lot of sense as to why Leah was on the couch in her pyjamas.

I walked closer to her. "Apparently, so did you." I let out a breath, sitting down on the couch, pulling me knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around myself. We sat in silence for a couple of painful moments. I felt a wave of unsettling emotions wash over me, so I turned to Leah, fully prepared to let her know what was on my mind.

"Before you say anything -" Leah put down her coffee, twisting and placing her elbow on the back of the couch, her head resting in her hand. She let out a breath just as I had. "I just want to apologize for everything. I know it wasn't easy to hear everything Sam said to you - everything _I_ said to you." Her facial expression was still stiff, just how it always was. "I'm sure there was a better way to go about it."

My heart warmed at her words. I pushed myself up and forward, wrapping my arms around her in one quick movement. Leah wrapped her arms around me just as fast. I was relieved and my unsettled feelings wilted away. "Thank you, Leah. I know you were just trying to protect me. You always are there to protect me." I leaned away, getting settled back on the comfy couch. "I'm so lucky to have a cousin like you."

Leah waved a dismissive hand. I guess it was too many sentimental words too early in the day. She reached for her coffee, bringing the mug back to her lips. "Just don't go around getting any more piercings."

I touched my nose briefly, feeling it to be a little sore. I then touched my arm, seeing then in the daylight how sort of gross it looked. "No more piercings. No more skin glue. You have my word."

Before Leah let the TV completely consume her, she made the effort to ask "Did you and Quil kiss and make up?"

I felt the heat rise in my cheeks almost immediately. How was I supposed to tell Leah? Was I supposed to tell Leah? It felt wrong to lie, but I wouldn't really be lying if I just didn't say anything at all.

While I thought about what to say, Leah's head slowly turned to look at me, eyebrows furrowed. "Or maybe more than kiss and make up?" She watched as I just shook my head and failed to come up with anything. She chuckled, though she didn't have a look on her face that made me believe she found it funny. Her eyebrows rose briefly, taking another sip of her coffee. "I'm gonna pretend I don't know anything about that."

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" I had to admit that one of the first thoughts that came to mind when I awoke was the pack. When they found out, I wasn't sure what the reaction was going to be, but I knew Quil and I wouldn't be hearing about it for a long time.

"You know me." Leah put on an over exaggerated smile, holding up her pointer and thumb fingers pressed together to drag them across her lips. "My lips are sealed."

I had to laugh at that.

Seth came down the hallway, a kind smile on his face. He was pulling a loose, self-cut t-shirt over him. His smile faded and his brows furrowed. "Why aren't you guys dressed?"

I was confused. "What?"

Seth laughed, grabbing the car keys off the counter, spinning them around his fingers, letting the jingle fill the room. "I get to drive or I'm telling Emily that you guys forgot."

Emily's baby shower. With everything that had happened in that last week, I had completely forgotten about the Emily's baby shower. It was a party or anything, but I assumed Emily probably decorated the house a little bit. I knew she told people not to get her presents, but I suspected that presents would be apart of the whole thing as well.

"Oh, my god." I looked at Leah, who was casually sipping her coffee. "Did you get a present?"

Leah scoffed. "Of course." She was pretty organized, despite her sitting on the couch in pyjamas. "It's a bib or something."

Seth laughed again. He seemed pretty pleased by Leah's being late. "A bib or something? Nice one, Lee." He moved to the front door, glancing back at the both of us before going outside. "I'll give you guys ten minutes and then I'm leaving."

I got up from the couch, making my way down the hallway. I paused and turned around when I saw Leah still on the couch, drinking coffee, watching TV. I knew that baby showers weren't really her scene, but this was Emily - this was family. "Leah, come on."

Leah sighed heavily, standing slowly, walking to the kitchen and putting her coffee mug into the sink. She walked towards me, sporting an annoyed expression on her face. "You know I don't want to go, right?"

"I know." We walked down the narrow hallway together, shoulders bumping. "You didn't forget. Why weren't you ready to go?"

"I didn't want to go without talking to you."

"Then why didn't you wake me?" I reached my door, my hand resting on the handle as I looked at Leah.

She shook her head, opening the door to her bedroom. "I was too scared I'd find Quil naked in your bed."

"Leah!" My cheeks were burning hot. I reached out to smack her arm or anything I could reach. She slipped away from me, laughing at her own tease before closing the door to her bedroom. I huffed, entering my bedroom and opening my drawer, searching for the pale yellow dress - the only dress - I owned. Emily told me once that she really like it, and the sun was shining today, so I thought why not.

I pulled shirt over my head, leaving me to be bare on top. I stopped for a moment, starting to think about last night. It wasn't just my cheeks that were growing hot, it was my whole body. I reached up at touched my chest, fingers delicately tracing all the places Quil's lips had recently been. My hand traveled across my stomach, feeling all the intense emotions return to me.

"Hurry up!" Leah's sudden yell and harsh knock on the door startled me. "Or we're leaving without you."

I pulled the dress over my head, braided my long hair away from my face, and ran outside to Leah's truck. When I saw that Seth was not in the passenger seat, I tried to stifle a laugh. I got in beside Seth, who was comfortable in the middle. "Couldn't convince her, huh?"

"It's like talking to a wall."

Leah shook her head, putting the truck in reverse and throwing her arm over the seat, looking back to back out of the driveway. I just barely caught Leah pinching the skin of Seth's arm. He pretended to be more hurt than he was and they argued for all of three seconds before we were all laughing.

I was relieved.

* * *

The door was open already, allowing easy access as Seth, Emily, as we slipped through the entrance and into the house. It looked almost normal, except for the one pink and blue banner hanging from one wall to the other. The only other unfamiliar sight was a pregnant Emily sitting at a table with about twelve or so boxes on the table in front of her. Everything else was the same. The boys were standing around, all relatively close to one another, talking or laughing or eating. Emily had a box in her lap, already opened, and she was looking up at Quil, who was standing next to her, laughing with her and holding her hand.

I felt Emily and Seth brush past me, further into the house, but I stayed where I was. I had a million and one thoughts in my mind and I couldn't grasp onto a single one long enough to figure out my next move.

Thankfully, I didn't have to nervously stand there much longer.

"Claire!"

My eyes immediately shifted from Quil to Emily, who smiled warmly at me. She held her arms out. I responded by walking over to her and wrapping my arms around her. "I'm so sorry we're late." I stood straight again, putting my hand on her warm shoulder. I looked at her rounded belly, not noticing that I was smiling until I felt the ache in my cheeks. "I can't believe this is finally happening."

Emily put her hand over mine, squeezing a little harder than I expected. She smiled so excitedly, I could see the veins in her neck. "Me either!" Her eyes widened suddenly and she yanked my hand from her shoulder so that I could feel her belly. "He can never stay still for long, Claire. Do you feel that?"

I couldn't quite feel, but I didn't have the heart to tell her I couldn't, so I just asked, "He?"

She nodded softly but surely. "I just know." Her eyes connected with mine in a meaningful glance. In that second or two of stillness, I could tell that she was looking back into the past, just as I was. How did we end up here, doing this? How did we get so lucky?

So lucky.

Emily moved my hand over her belly again. "Do you feel that?" She moved it around again, causing me to laugh. I could feel the warmth from the entire room, but especially from the person a mere foot away from where I was, on the other side of Emily. I didn't dare look up.

"I found it! I got it!" Embry came barreling down the staircase, jogging into the living room. He slowed and came to a stop directly in front of the table with Emily and all her gifts. He shook his hair, letting out a big breath and he looked down, cradling a camera carefully in his hands.

I moved to get out of the frame, but Emily didn't let go of my hand. "Let's get a picture!" She glanced to the other side of her. "The three of us!"

I mindlessly followed Emily's gaze to Quil, without giving it a second thought. I looked at Quil the precise moment his eyes stopped scanning my face. Our eyes met and my heart thumped inside my chest. The warmth radiating off of him balled up inside of me. I thought about the previous night and my glance fell down to his hands, hanging innocently at his sides. I felt them on me all over again. I cleared my throat, looking away. I wanted to see his face - his emotions right now, but I couldn't bear to look back. I was getting too hot.

Embry held up the camera, squinting one eye. I could just barely see his brows furrow and then he lowered that camera for a brief moment to say, "Claire, scoot in a bit more. Why are you so far away?"

I stepped moved behind Emily's chair, stepping closer to Quil. I put my hand on Emily's shoulder just as I felt Quil's hand rest on my lower back. I smiled for the photo, feeling the length of his fingers playing with the fabric of my dress. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks as I struggled to keep a steady breath.

The camera flashed after a couple seconds too long.

I looked down at the table of presents as I quickly stepped away from Quil. I realized then that I forgot Emily's present in the truck. I leaned down to place my face next to hers. "I forgot your present in the truck. I'll be back." I stood straight, weaving around Sam to head for the still open front door. The air seemed less hot outside than inside, despite the harshness of the rare sunlight.

I headed for Leah's truck, reaching into the unrolled window to grab the small, decently wrapped box. I grabbed the present, spinning around to head back inside, only to be greeted by Quil, standing tall in front of me.

My back fell against the truck with a thump as I felt my heart in my chest again. "Jesus." I avoided his eyes, looking at the house. "You scared me."

"Claire."

The firm tone of his voice was impossible to ignore. I hesitated for only a moment before looking up at him. I looked at his curls hanging over his forehead and I remembered what if felt like to tug on them and all the pleasures that followed. I looked away again, taking one step toward the house. "We should get back -"

Fast enough that if I blinked, I would've missed it, Quil was standing in front of me. His pecs were level with my eyes, the tanned colour of his skin looking warm and inviting that it took resisting not to touch. His hand pulled on my chin gently, making me look up at him. "Claire..." His tone was much softer that time and I couldn't look away. His brows furrowed together. He looked worried. "Did I do something?"

"No," I said quickly. I put my hand over his, pulling it away from my face. Now that I was looking him in the eyes, I was locked in. "You did everything right." My eyes widened slightly as I stuttered to come up with a different response than the awfully transparent one I just gave. "I mean - I just mean that you - you -"

Quil's worried face disappeared in an instant. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he started to smile. "Claire -" He teased. "You're blushing." He waited until after I chuckled to start speaking again. "You wouldn't even look at me in there." He took a step closer - too close.

"Don't -" I reached out too quick to stop myself, placing both of my hands on his hips, just above his cut-offs. I stared at his abdomen and I tried to breathe, all of last night running through my mind. I looked back up at him, glancing at his lips before meeting his eyes once again. "I..." I licked my lips watching as Quil's eyes moved down my face, watching my mouth as I said, "I can't stop thinking about last night."

Loud laughter came from the house and Quil's head snapped to the open door. He took one of my hands in his, leading both of us away from the intruding eyes of the baby shower attendees. We made it to the side of the house and Quil yanked me closer to him, my body slamming against his. Before I could bounce off of him, he grabbed my face in both of his hands, placing his lips on mine.

I responded quick, kissing him eagerly. The heat of the sun, him up against me - I didn't notice. I was too distracted, my hands settling on his hard back, pulling us tighter against each other. His hands fell away from my face, one on the back of my neck, the other cupping my butt. I made a noise of surprise and then another when I felt my back hit the side of the house. Quil's kissed the edge of my mouth and then my cheeks and then my neck. I felt his tongue not long after. One of my hands was in his hair, tugging lightly. "Oh, Quil..."

He groaned into my neck, body pressing against me again. "Again," he said, so quietly I almost didn't hear him.

I smiled as the sound of his commanding voice made the hairs on my arm standing straight. I opened my eyes and then my mouth, readying to say those pleasing words once again. My eyes fell onto a tall, slender figure a couple feet from us. "Embry!"

Quil's lips paused against my neck. I could feel his back tense under my touch. He pulled away from me, a look in his eyes I had never seen - something resembling passion or anger or surprise. I felt the heat in me all over again, just by the sexy look on his face. "What?"

My hand fell away from his hair to grip his bicep, yanking it to turn his body. "Embry."

Quil turned around, seeing Embry standing near us. "Oh."

Even though Quil was turned away from me, I could just barely see the redness rising in his cheeks. I might have been seeing Quil in a different light, but he would always be the same person.

Embry was standing with his arms crossed over his chest. He seemed mighty pleased with himself, catching the two of us. He couldn't have been happier to be in the know, especially when no one else was. "Oh is right, Ateara." His always mischievous eyes shifted to me. "And little, _innocent_ , Claire!"

I put my hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing. I knew Quil was trying to take this seriously.

"You can't tell anyone," Quil said to the least trustworthy friend of the group. "Not yet." Quil looked over his shoulder at me briefly. "This is really new for us. I think we'd like a little time to enjoy it before every starts hassling us."

Embry chuckled, arms coming uncrossed as he shifted casually on his feet. "Then maybe try not to _enjoy_ it at Emily's baby shower, with the rest of us about twenty feet away. The rest of us as in shapeshifters - as in we have incredible hearing." He laughed again. "The two of you are lucky that we're all so distracted in there."

I smiled, hoping to strike a soft spot in Embry. "Come on, Em. You won't tell anyone, will you?"

It must've worked at least a bit because Embry said, "I wont't." He pointed at Quil. "You better not shift at all then. You know what goes through your mind, goes through ours, don't forget. Though I wouldn't mind the visual -"

Quil's neck tightened as he tilted his head at Embry. I imagined Embry was looking at narrowed eyes from Quil.

Embry seemed unfazed. "I don't think that'd be the best way to tell everyone." He watched the two of us simply nod. Embry stood still for a long moment, eyes softening at the two of us that way they only did when he got sentimental - a rare state of Embry. "I'm happy for you guys."

I smiled widely, feeling quite happy for myself as well. I stepped to stand beside Quil, taking his hand in mine.

Quil's smile matched mine as he looked down at me, squeezing my hand lightly. He turned back to Embry as all of us started making our way back to the house. "Thanks, Em," he said, quiet enough not to alert to other boys as we grew closer to the open door.

Embry bounced up the porch steps, throwing his arm over Quil's shoulders. "I do what I can."


End file.
